The UF Data Center seemed unexceptional, ordinary in every sense of the word — at least from the outside. Clad in red brick, it was wedged into the interior of a near-empty parking lot where Erik Deumens, UF Information Technology Research Computing senior director, stood patiently.
The building’s signature UF brick and windows were all fake, an elaborate disguise.
UF’s supercomputer, HiPerGator, was tucked safely inside: 5,000 square feet of technology running around the clock, uninterrupted in this concrete bunker fit to withstand a Category 4 hurricane.
Since its creation in 2013, HiPerGator’s four generations have moved onto east campus. The UF Board of Trustees approved the latest version in December to the tune of $24 million. The supercomputer was designed and fitted by NVIDIA, a technology company co-founded by a UF alum and the namesake of Malachowsky Hall, and the first shipment of HiPerGator’s newest AI arrived in January. As installation continues through the summer, the question of sustainability lingers.
In June 2021, HiPerGator ranked second on the Green500 list, which includes the world’s most energy-efficient supercomputers. However, UF’s third-generation system sank to slot 54 by last November.
As HiPerGator’s fourth generation is brought to life, Deumens said the new version is estimated to compute seven to 10 times faster using the same amount of energy, ensuring the supercomputer won’t be any worse for the environment after upgrades.
As for the future, he said the root of the problem lies in engineering more powerful technology without the added size and heat, an enigma that hasn’t been solved quite yet.
“We’re trying with the available technology to do the best we can, and I think we did a really good job,” Deumens said.
The bunker
On the other side of the threshold to the outside world, HiPerGator’s machinery rumbles up to 120 decibels, similar to the scream of a jet engine.
A 12,000-gallon water tank lined with the same insulating foam used in space shuttles is concealed in a separate wing. Along with another 2,000 gallons used to fill the array of pipes connected to the bunker, the water continuously circulates to cool the air used to cool the technology.
Chilled gusts rise through the perforated tile floor, which was raised several feet above the concrete foundation as an air circulation channel. It counteracts the intense warmth radiating from HiPerGator’s rows of towering black stacks. Without continuous airflow, the supercomputer would overheat and malfunction in just four minutes, Deumens said.
The structure’s backup generators are fit for an industrial cruise ship and equipped with enough electricity to power about 600 homes, Deumens said. They should spring to life within two minutes and last up to five days, after which they could be replenished by truckloads of fuel. Air and water flow would be restored so the supercomputer doesn’t “burn itself up.”
Though Deumens joked “Gainesville has more serious problems than trying to get HiPerGator back up and running” if replacement fuel couldn’t be trucked in, the supercomputer has contributed to research during crises, including Hurricane Helene.
While the Category 4 storm whirled through North Florida in September, HiPerGator — protected by the bunker — ran simulations of Jacksonville’s susceptibility to flooding.
“Everybody has ideas, and the projects are just raining upon us,” he said.
Over half of UF’s $1.26 billion annual research budget is allocated to projects involving the supercomputer, which Deumens said also costs about $6 million to run every year.
The supercomputer, separated into HiPerGator and HiPerGator AI, can assist with everything ranging from simple calculations to the uncharted territory of artificial intelligence.
Most recently, this exploration manifests in the form of digital twins, or AI-generated copies of physical objects or systems — like the city of Jacksonville during Helene.
Beyond the physical components of HiPerGator, the research it contributes to from within its concrete oasis could very well contribute to environmental progress, including UF’s recent springboard into finding more efficient ways to manufacture semiconductor chips.
“Whenever we see an opportunity, we look at it, and then we work on it,” Deumens said. “We have sustainability in mind all the time.”
The ‘latest and the greatest’
The first unboxing of new AI equipment happened Jan. 23 as polar vortex events were overrunning much of the country, and Winter Storm Enzo gifted Gainesville with an unexpected chill.
A white semi truck inched its way toward the building, caught in a maze of curbs and cars and people desperate to rip open its doors. HiPerGator staff formed a puddle around the UF Data Center’s garage, craning their necks to get a peek into the truck.
Originally shipped from Asia, the delivery truck made its way to Mississippi, where it was briefly held hostage by snow delays. It finally pulled into Gainesville the night before and was to be unloaded bright and early that gray Thursday.
The truck, which likely carried millions of dollars in technology, was escorted by a hidden security team, according to a UF spokesman.
UF Chief Information Officer Elias Eldayrie made his best attempt of snapping the truck’s lock with a wee set of wire cutters, swearing light-heartedly. He chuckled as a man handed him a much larger pair. The lock cracked in half, and from there, it was a frenzied unloading.
HiPerGator’s third generation currently processes about 1.2 billion calculations per second, Eldayrie said, but the fourth would far outrun it within the same energy envelope.
“The computer is very impressive, but what’s more impressive is our faculty,” he told the crowd. “It also allows our students to have access to the latest and the greatest, especially in this AI world that we all live in.”
Eldayrie helped slot the first rack of HiPerGator’s latest AI, adorned with a gold-faced NVIDIA nameplate.
Once more parts are installed, the upgraded supercomputer will likely be able to sustain a small number of users by July before becoming fully operational by September, according to UFIT.
As long as the supercomputer continues running, the system produces no waste. But once HiPerGator’s fourth generation retires previous versions, those parts will no longer be of use.
That’s where recycling comes into play, Deumens said. Some pieces of generation two are promised to the engineering department, which will pilot studies to decrease the supercomputer’s carbon footprint, like finding more efficient water-based cooling systems. Once those parts are no longer needed, he said they’ll be handed off to the UF Surplus Department, which specializes in selling and donating used materials.
The remaining scraps can then be sent for recycling, picked apart for the motherboards, steel and heavy metals needed to construct new computer parts. The effort could keep at least some of HiPerGator out of landfills.
Though reducing emissions and waste products is on the forefront of his mind, Deumens said it could still be overshadowed by the need for advancement.
“The thing that is our highest priority is serving the mission of the university, right?” he said. “We are doing it in a way that is sustainable as possible.”
Contact Rylan DiGiacomo-Rapp at rdigiacomo-rapp@alligator.org. Follow her on X @rylan_digirapp.
Rylan DiGiacomo-Rapp is the enterprise environmental reporter and a third-year journalism and environmental science major. She has also worked as the metro editor, enterprise political reporter and metro news assistant. Outside of the newsroom, you can usually find her haunting local coffee shops.
