At a data centre in the Greater Toronto Area, the University of Toronto’s Niagara supercomputer stands as one of Canada’s fastest computing systems. Home to approximately 2,000 interconnected nodes, each equivalent to ten powerful laptops, Niagara boasts a staggering 80,000 CPU cores. However, after seven years of operation—a lifetime in the fast-evolving realm of technology—it is poised for a significant upgrade.
Thanks to a $52 million investment from both federal and provincial governments, a comprehensive overhaul is underway, transforming the aging system into an even more formidable computing powerhouse, named Trillium. The renovation isn’t merely an update but a complete reconstruction. The new infrastructure promises a threefold increase in power, enabling even greater feats in computational research and innovation.
The transformation involves replacing everything: cables, switches, power connections, and plumbing. Traditional systems would allow operators to swap in new nodes with upgraded processors incrementally, but Niagara’s extensive upgrade necessitates an entirely fresh setup. Throughout this complex process, the team is tasked with ensuring zero downtime for the researchers depending on its capabilities. This involves decommissioning the old system slowly while the new computer is constructed and gradually assumes larger tasks, eventually overtaking its predecessor in capacity and efficiency.
Academics across Canada, often collaborating with other institutions and industries, benefit from Niagara’s immense computing power—offered at no cost—to tackle challenges in healthcare, transportation, aerospace, AI, and more. For any research requiring massive computational power, beyond the reach of personal computers or even clusters of laptops, Niagara has been the go-to resource.
Despite the upcoming upgrade, experts agree that Canada’s computing capacity must continue to expand to keep pace with global advancements. This upgrade represents a vital step in closing that gap. Simultaneously, similar enhancement efforts are underway at the University of Waterloo, with both projects collectively costing around $95 million.
Such investments underscore Canada’s commitment to bolstering its research infrastructure, enabling the pursuit of groundbreaking discoveries and solutions to some of society’s most pressing issues.
This was reported by CityNews by David Zura.