This is El Capitan the #1 Top500 Supercomputer

We get a behind-the-scenes look at the system just before it started its classified mission

A few days ago, I got word that I would be allowed to take a camera into the El Capitan Supercomputer that currently sits at #1 on the Top500. This is a big deal. The HPE and AMD 44,000+ accelerator system itself is secured inside a gated and guarded perimeter in a national lab. It is then in a building and on a floor closed to most of the lab’s employees and, indeed, members of the public with cameras. I was one of the few who got access.

In November 2024, the system took its place atop the Top500 list, even though there are other AI systems with more accelerators out there.

We wanted to show you some photos that we did not show on the STH main site but also provide higher-resolution images. As a quick note, this is going to have enough photos that even keeping the text brief, it will get truncated by many e-mail clients, so you might need to click “see more” or another similar prompt.