 New
USJFCOM super computer will enhance command efforts
A
new super computer, assigned to U.S. Joint Forces Command,
arrived at the Joint Training and Experimentation Center
recently. Armed with the power of more than 1,000 individual
computers, the new system will help joint operators
enhance modeling and simulation experimentation and
training efforts in support of the warfighter.
• Listen
to the podcast
By Robert Pursell
USJFCOM Public Affairs
(SUFFOLK,
Va. – Nov. 16, 2007) -- Imagine if you
had the computing power of more than 1,000 PCs, what would
you do with it? U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) will
use this computing power to better prepare the warfighter
so they know what to expect before entering the battlespace.
This
computing power comes via a new super computer, assigned
to USJFCOM arrived at the Joint Training and Experimentation
Center here recently to enhance experimentation and training
efforts in modeling and simulation (M&S).
The super
computer, known as the Scalable Parallel Processor (SPP)
system, is built from 256 nodes or central modules
providing the simultaneous processing capability of 1064
personal computers. It is much larger and more powerful
than most machines used today which allows it to yield
finer details when it comes to modeling at a faster speed.
Jack
Winger, technical director for experimentation engineering
at the Joint Concept
Development and Experimentation Directorate (J9), explained how it will be used to better
prepare the
warfighter.
"The Scalable Parallel Processor system will be used
to simulate future and current battlespace environments,
homeland
defense and homeland security scenarios, and other experimental
situations. It will also be used to support training objectives," he
said.
As
far as the warfighter going to theater is concerned,
the more accurate the M&S of the battlespace, the
better the preparation they have for when they actually
deploy.
 "When you’re in the fog of war, what’s the thinking
enemy going to do? The Scalable Parallel Processor allows
us to do the ‘what if’ – type comparisons.
If this happens, how can this flow actually go to give
the commander a decision making tool," said Winger.
Deputy for the Joint Training and Technology Group John
Vinett, Joint Training
Directorate and Joint Warfighting Center (J7/JWFC) said the credibility of the training scenarios
go a long way in training forces for combat.
"If there’s even the slightest hint that it’s
not realistic or that it doesn’t work right [the
warfighters] immediately think it’s just a game,
it loses credibility and isn’t believable anymore," he
said.
"What it would allow us to do is provide more fidelity,
more definition. When you’re trying to train forces
that are getting ready to go in harm’s way, you want
to create an environment that they think is real. You don’t
want to let any aspect to cause them to say, ‘that’s
obviously fake, that doesn’t make any sense. That
representation of an improvised explosive device is all
wrong.’ So we think the super computer might allow
us to provide more fidelity, more detail, and more clarity
to the training audience so that they actually become immersed
in it and they’re not aware that it’s not real," said
Vinett.
Winger explained how the SPP brings this credibility that
the warfighter is looking for.
"The new SPP will allow us to increase the number
of entities (individual items), behavior, terrain resolution,
fidelity, infrastructure features, environmental realism,
and analytical potential. All these features combine to
increase the credibility of the M&S applications," he
said.
When
a user simulates a Baghdad rush hour using the SPP, one
can see thousands of people actually getting up
and
going to work, along with their habits and behaviors. If
a soldier sees this in the experimentation and training
environment, they’ll have an accurate depiction of
what to expect once they actually get to Baghdad.
Winger
explained how the SPP impacts each entity in these simulations.
"It’ll be nicer on the eyes but also allow us to control
the entities within the scenario itself, where you might
see a hundred cars running up and down the streets; we’ll
be able to do 400 or 500 cars now and put some people in
there," he said.
Winger
also touched on the SPP’s ability to incorporate
new weapons systems.
"As new weapons systems become available to us and
we understand how they function and how they interact within
the scenario, we can put that into the modeling and simulation
environment and let the computer manage that at the same
time to do cause and effect," he said.
Prior to the
arrival of the SPP at USJFCOM, the command used super
computers located at Wright Patterson Air Force
Base, Ohio and Maui, Hawaii to support experiments, including
Noble
Resolve and Urban
Resolve 2015. Now, USJFCOM can
use its own for such experiments.
Winger said a major
advantage of having the SPP on-site is the reduction
amount of time it takes to get a signal
and an increase in bandwidth, which improves motion
within the simulations, making it more fluid.
"Latency; we’ve reduced that significantly,
and we now have increased bandwidth between the two places.
So when you’re looking at something flying [in a
scenario], it will fly as you would normally see something
fly or a car or a tank moves along as you would see it
on [television]," he said. "That provides a
richness for the environment for the players that are actually
observing what is going on, it also helps the demos too
because that’s what they want to see."
The SPP can be accessed through the Defense Research and
Engineering Network (DREN), the official DoD network specifically
designed for computational research, engineering, and testing,
and is used to transfer leading network and security technologies
and capabilities across the DoD and other federal agencies
Winger
said this connectivity to DoD and non-DoD agencies is
possible as long as there is a network connectivity
path between the various sites and provided all of the
super computers are operating at the same classification
level.
Winger
said that beginning early next year, the SPP will have
its first opportunity to showcase its effectiveness.
Its first use will be for the Noble Resolve 2008 – 1
campaign, where officials will look to properly simulate
a large urban environment. After that, look for the SPP
to play a major role in all USJFCOM M&S events.
|
