# Baskerville

> supercomputer released in 2021

**Wikidata**: [Q132859392](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q132859392)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/baskerville

## Summary
Baskerville is a supercomputer released in 2021 and operated by the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. It is a Lenovo-manufactured system running Linux that achieved a peak performance of 4.34 petaflops and a measured LINPACK performance of 2.34 petaflops.

## Key Facts
- Released in 2021 and operated by the University of Birmingham
- Manufactured by Lenovo as a ThinkSystem SR670 V2 configuration
- Equipped with 36 Intel Xeon Platinum 8360Y processors (2.4 GHz, 36 cores each)
- Contains 26,208 processor cores total
- Achieves 4.34 petaflops peak performance and 2.34 petaflops LINPACK performance
- Uses InfiniBand HDR interconnect technology
- Ranked 445th on the June 2024 TOP500 list and 490th on the November 2024 TOP500 list
- Located in Birmingham, United Kingdom
- Classified as a higher education industry supercomputer

## FAQs
### Q: What is Baskerville?
A: Baskerville is a supercomputer released in 2021 and operated by the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. It is a Lenovo-manufactured system that achieves 4.34 petaflops peak performance.

### Q: Who operates Baskerville?
A: Baskerville is operated by the University of Birmingham, a higher education institution in the United Kingdom.

### Q: What are Baskerville's technical specifications?
A: Baskerville contains 26,208 processor cores using Intel Xeon Platinum 8360Y processors at 2.4 GHz, achieves 4.34 petaflops peak performance, and uses InfiniBand HDR interconnect technology.

## Why It Matters
Baskerville represents a significant computational resource for academic research in the United Kingdom, providing the University of Birmingham with high-performance computing capabilities for scientific simulations, data analysis, and complex modeling tasks. As a mid-tier supercomputer ranked in the TOP500 list, it enables researchers to tackle computationally intensive problems in fields such as physics, chemistry, engineering, and data science that would be impossible on conventional computing systems. The system's 4.34 petaflops peak performance allows for massive parallel processing of complex calculations, supporting cutting-edge research that advances scientific understanding and technological innovation. Its deployment in 2021 reflects the growing importance of high-performance computing in higher education and research institutions worldwide.

## Notable For
- Ranked among the world's top 500 supercomputers (TOP500 list)
- Provides 4.34 petaflops peak performance for academic research
- Features advanced InfiniBand HDR interconnect technology
- Contains 26,208 processor cores for massive parallel computing
- Operated by a major UK university for higher education research

## Body
### Technical Architecture
Baskerville is built on Lenovo's ThinkSystem SR670 V2 platform, featuring 36 Intel Xeon Platinum 8360Y processors running at 2.4 GHz with 36 cores each. The system utilizes InfiniBand HDR interconnect technology for high-speed communication between nodes, enabling efficient parallel processing across its 26,208 processor cores.

### Performance Metrics
The supercomputer achieves a peak theoretical performance of 4.34 petaflops (quadrillions of floating-point operations per second) and a measured LINPACK performance of 2.34 petaflops. These metrics place Baskerville in the upper tier of academic supercomputers globally, capable of handling complex scientific computations and large-scale data processing tasks.

### Operational Context
Located at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, Baskerville serves the higher education sector, supporting research across multiple scientific disciplines. The system runs on Linux, the predominant operating system for high-performance computing environments, ensuring compatibility with a wide range of scientific software and applications.

### Ranking History
Baskerville has maintained a position in the TOP500 supercomputer rankings, achieving 445th place in June 2024 and 490th place in November 2024. This consistent ranking demonstrates the system's sustained performance capabilities and its relevance in the global supercomputing landscape.

### Research Applications
As a university-operated supercomputer, Baskerville enables researchers to conduct computationally intensive studies in areas such as computational physics, molecular dynamics, climate modeling, artificial intelligence, and big data analytics. The system's architecture and performance specifications make it suitable for both traditional scientific computing workloads and emerging AI/ML applications.

## References

1. [Source](https://www.top500.org/site/51024/)
2. [Source](https://www.top500.org/system/180243/)
3. [TOP500](https://www.top500.org/system/180243/)