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Supercomputing Conference 2024

Bursting at the Seams

Article from ADMIN 85/2025

By Jeff Layton

We'll recap some noticeable and not so noticeable points of interest that came up during the largest, most attended Supercomputing Conference yet.

SC24 took place in Atlanta, GA, November 17-22. As I'm writing this, 17,959 attendees – that's 3,000+ more than last year – registered. More than 500 companies filled the exhibition floor, which was a net new 136 companies over last year. Both attendance and corporate presence set records.

I can't possibly present a complete round-up or summary of SC24, but you can find other recaps – written, audio, and video – that cover a lot more detail than I can here. What I can do is present some things I found interesting. If you feel I've missed something important, please let me know. Perhaps you can write something about your thoughts.

One of my favorite things to do is attend the Beowulf Bash (BeoBash) [1]. It is the only open party during the conference, so a wide range of people attend. Alas, my stamina gave out this year, but about 1,300 people attended, which is also a new record. For an "open" party, the list of sponsors on the home page is amazing. The power of community is noticeable. Thanks Lara, Michael, and Doug. They, and others, are the unsung heroes putting this party together.

SCinet and Power

One thing I learned this year is that SCinet [2], which was used for Internet access during the conference, uses quite a bit of power. I don't know how SCinet started, but it demonstrates what it takes to build the most powerful and advanced network anywhere, including power and cooling, monitoring, fixing issues, and supporting users. A number of volunteers built and ran this global collaboration along with a respectable number of companies who donated hardware and allowed their employees to volunteer.

While attending SC24, I learned that SCinet uses 1MW/day. After a little Google search, I discoverd that's enough power for 1,000 American homes. This

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