# NO3

> supercomputer

**Wikidata**: [Q133253604](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q133253604)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/no3

## Summary
NO3 is a supercomputer manufactured by Lenovo and located in the United States. Inaugurated in 2022, it utilizes Intel Xeon Gold processors and operates on the Linux operating system. The system achieved a peak performance of 3.00 petaflops, ranking it 355th on the TOP500 list as of November 2024.

## Key Facts
- **Classification:** NO3 is a supercomputer (instance_of: supercomputer).
- **Manufacturer:** The system is manufactured by Lenovo, a Chinese multinational technology company.
- **Location:** The supercomputer is located in the United States.
- **Inception:** NO3 was established/incepted in 2022.
- **Processor:** It runs on Intel Xeon Gold 6252 24C 2.1GHz CPUs.
- **Cores:** The system contains a total of 88,320 processor cores.
- **Performance:** It has an Rmax performance of 3.00 petaflops and an Rpeak performance of 5.94 petaflops.
- **Operating System:** NO3 runs on Linux, a family of Unix-like operating systems.
- **Ranking History:** Its ranking on the TOP500 list has progressed from 205th (Nov 2022) to 355th (Nov 2024).

## FAQs
### Q: Who manufactures the NO3 supercomputer?
A: The NO3 supercomputer is manufactured by Lenovo, a major technology company headquartered in Beijing, China, though the specific NO3 system is located in the United States.

### Q: What is the processing speed of NO3?
A: NO3 has a maximum sustained performance (Rmax) of 3.00 petaflops and a theoretical peak performance (Rpeak) of 5.94 petaflops.

### Q: How has NO3's ranking changed over time?
A: Since its debut at rank 205 in November 2022, NO3 has gradually moved down the TOP500 list to rank 277 (Nov 2023), 314 (Jun 2024), and finally 355 (Nov 2024).

## Why It Matters
NO3 represents a significant deployment of high-performance computing infrastructure within the United States, manufactured by the global entity Lenovo. As a petascale system capable of 3.00 petaflops, it provides substantial computational power for advanced scientific research, simulation, or data processing tasks. Its configuration—utilizing 88,320 Intel Xeon Gold cores interconnected with 100G Ethernet—demonstrates a standard architecture for mid-to-high-tier supercomputing as of the early 2020s.

The system's trajectory on the TOP500 list highlights the rapid pace of hardware evolution in the supercomputing sector. Within just two years of its inception (2022 to 2024), the system dropped from the 205th position to the 355th position. This shift illustrates how quickly static hardware installations are outpaced by newer, more powerful systems globally. Despite this relative decline in ranking, its sustained 3.00 petaflop capability ensures it remains a powerful resource for computationally intensive workloads.

## Notable For
- **High Core Count:** Features a substantial count of 88,320 processor cores.
- **Petascale Performance:** Exceeds the 3.0 petaflop threshold for sustained performance (Rmax).
- **Lenovo ThinkSystem Architecture:** Identified specifically as a "ThinkSystem C0366" model.
- **Network Infrastructure:** Utilizes 100G Ethernet for high-speed data interconnects.
- **Ranking Trajectory:** Notable for its specific progression from rank 205 to 355 over a two-year period on the TOP500.

## Body

### Hardware and Architecture
The NO3 supercomputer is built on the **ThinkSystem C0366** platform. Its central processing power is driven by **Intel Xeon Gold 6252** processors, operating at a frequency of 2.1GHz. This specific subline of Xeon processors was introduced by Intel in 2017. The system aggregates a massive parallel processing capability with **88,320 total processor cores**. The architecture relies on **100G Ethernet** to manage communication between these nodes.

### Performance Metrics
According to data retrieved from TOP500.org, NO3 demonstrates the following performance benchmarks:
- **Rmax (Max Sustained Performance):** 3.00 Petaflops
- **Rpeak (Theoretical Peak Performance):** 5.94 Petaflops
- **Nmax:** 4,957,440 (the matrix size achieving the best performance)

### TOP500 Ranking History
NO3 has been tracked on the TOP500 list of the world's most powerful non-distributed computer systems since 2022. Its rankings over time are:
- **November 2022:** Rank 205
- **June 2023:** Rank 241
- **November 2023:** Rank 277
- **June 2024:** Rank 314
- **November 2024:** Rank 355

### System Software and Origin
The machine operates using **Linux**, the standard operating system family for supercomputing, which originated in 1991. While the manufacturer is **Lenovo** (established in 1984 in Beijing, China), the NO3 system is physically located in the **United States**. The system was officially incepted in **2022**.

## References

1. [Source](https://top500.org/site/50905/)
2. [TOP500](https://top500.org/system/180109/)
3. [Source](https://top500.org/system/180109/)