Highlights from the Second Annual Single Board Cluster Competition at SDSC

Published June 4, 2024

Student competitors in the Single Board Cluster Competition with mentor, Mary Thomas (left).  Credit: Jake Drake, SDSC Communications.

By Kimberly Mann Bruch, SDSC Communications

Last month, the Supercomputing Club (SCC) of San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at UC San Diego organized and competed in the Single Board Cluster Competition. The hybrid event included two on-site undergraduate competitors: the SDSC SCC team and the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) team. The remote teams were from the University of Kansas and Denmark’s Aalborg University.

The challenge? To create a cluster out of single-socket computers that can execute a variety of benchmarks and scientific applications while adhering to strict power and cost constraints. The competition included several additional challenges and requirements.

"Participants engaged in various benchmarks to showcase the prowess of their clusters," said Mary Thomas, who served as a mentor for the SDSC SCC team and oversaw the event. "The turnout exceeded our expectations, and it was heartening to witness the camaraderie among the students."

The Aalborg University team won the overall competition, followed by the University of Kansas, with third place going to SDSC.