Glenn K. Lockwood
@glennklockwood.com
I am a supercomputing enthusiast, but I usually don't know what I'm talking about. I post about large-scale infrastructure for #HPC and #AI.
Chatting with a pal reminded me of a fun pre-SC activity: looking back at old conference takes that aged like milk. Remember this one?
#HPC #zettascale #hedoesntworkthereanymore
#HPC #zettascale #hedoesntworkthereanymore
November 14, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Chatting with a pal reminded me of a fun pre-SC activity: looking back at old conference takes that aged like milk. Remember this one?
#HPC #zettascale #hedoesntworkthereanymore
#HPC #zettascale #hedoesntworkthereanymore
November 14, 2025 at 8:22 PM
I never heard of Socks Club before this year, they seem to be crushing it. I now have WEKA socks, VAST socks, and Anyscale socks all from them. Made in the USA, and pretty high quality for conference swag. I should invest.
CC @addisonsnell.bsky.social my fellow sock aficionado.
CC @addisonsnell.bsky.social my fellow sock aficionado.
November 5, 2025 at 4:57 PM
I never heard of Socks Club before this year, they seem to be crushing it. I now have WEKA socks, VAST socks, and Anyscale socks all from them. Made in the USA, and pretty high quality for conference swag. I should invest.
CC @addisonsnell.bsky.social my fellow sock aficionado.
CC @addisonsnell.bsky.social my fellow sock aficionado.
Satya posted a video showing off their GB300 which appears to be in a previous-gen, air-cooled DC. Look at the size of the two liquid-air heat exchangers required to support a single ~120kW NVL72 rack. Not as ridiculous as the 4x used by Meta, but man, this looks silly compared to traditional #HPC.
October 11, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Satya posted a video showing off their GB300 which appears to be in a previous-gen, air-cooled DC. Look at the size of the two liquid-air heat exchangers required to support a single ~120kW NVL72 rack. Not as ridiculous as the 4x used by Meta, but man, this looks silly compared to traditional #HPC.
Time for my vacation in North Dakota to come to an end. I can fly to either Denver or Denver. I guess I’m flying to Denver.
September 28, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Time for my vacation in North Dakota to come to an end. I can fly to either Denver or Denver. I guess I’m flying to Denver.
Here is the lutefisk (bottom right) that I had for dinner. If you don’t know what that is, it’s worth looking up. Sounds way worse than it tastes.
September 26, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Here is the lutefisk (bottom right) that I had for dinner. If you don’t know what that is, it’s worth looking up. Sounds way worse than it tastes.
Here’s the klub I had for lunch. Hard to see the ~cm of melted butter at the bottom of the container.
September 25, 2025 at 1:02 AM
Here’s the klub I had for lunch. Hard to see the ~cm of melted butter at the bottom of the container.
I’m in North Dakota this week celebrating Scandinavian heritage.
That liquid on top is butter.
That liquid on top is butter.
September 24, 2025 at 10:32 PM
I’m in North Dakota this week celebrating Scandinavian heritage.
That liquid on top is butter.
That liquid on top is butter.
Also, check out the earthworks being done in preparation for their upcoming Doudna system. Going to require a lot of cooling!
September 19, 2025 at 11:53 PM
Also, check out the earthworks being done in preparation for their upcoming Doudna system. Going to require a lot of cooling!
Visited some of my old pals at @nersc.bsky.social this afternoon. It feels like a lot has changed, but at the same time, it’s the same old place. I do miss working here, but am glad I now get a chance to visit under the auspices of my new role at VAST.
September 19, 2025 at 11:50 PM
Visited some of my old pals at @nersc.bsky.social this afternoon. It feels like a lot has changed, but at the same time, it’s the same old place. I do miss working here, but am glad I now get a chance to visit under the auspices of my new role at VAST.
I assume this +$4b buildout is the huge site next door to the just-disclosed Fairwater site. If you consider this a single "datacenter," this is what a ~gigawatt AI supercomputer is going to look like in 2027.
September 18, 2025 at 6:15 PM
I assume this +$4b buildout is the huge site next door to the just-disclosed Fairwater site. If you consider this a single "datacenter," this is what a ~gigawatt AI supercomputer is going to look like in 2027.
My first taste of loss since leaving Microsoft came last night 😢
August 22, 2025 at 4:40 PM
My first taste of loss since leaving Microsoft came last night 😢
Getting on a plane for VAST for the first time on Monday. But I’m not so sure about the destination 🥵
August 9, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Getting on a plane for VAST for the first time on Monday. But I’m not so sure about the destination 🥵
GPT-5 is cool and all, but it's still not to be trusted. Didn't take me long to get "PhD-level" made-up facts.
What really distinguishes "PhD-level" is the ability to critically think, be skeptical, and stand behind the information you put forward. GPT-5 still ain't there.
What really distinguishes "PhD-level" is the ability to critically think, be skeptical, and stand behind the information you put forward. GPT-5 still ain't there.
August 9, 2025 at 12:49 AM
GPT-5 is cool and all, but it's still not to be trusted. Didn't take me long to get "PhD-level" made-up facts.
What really distinguishes "PhD-level" is the ability to critically think, be skeptical, and stand behind the information you put forward. GPT-5 still ain't there.
What really distinguishes "PhD-level" is the ability to critically think, be skeptical, and stand behind the information you put forward. GPT-5 still ain't there.
One thing I really enjoy about working at VAST (or perhaps that I enjoy about not working at Microsoft) is that I can go out and talk to people again as part of my job. Here’s a view from where I got to spend my afternoon today.
#notHPC #butthatsok
#notHPC #butthatsok
August 5, 2025 at 5:21 AM
One thing I really enjoy about working at VAST (or perhaps that I enjoy about not working at Microsoft) is that I can go out and talk to people again as part of my job. Here’s a view from where I got to spend my afternoon today.
#notHPC #butthatsok
#notHPC #butthatsok
Typical hyperscale DLC designs require huge liquid-air heat exchangers adjacent to every rack without facility water, and even then, most GB200 is still 15% air, so racks are spaced apart to ensure enough volume is available. Here is a MAIA100 liquid-air hx; the GB200 one is even bigger.
July 16, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Typical hyperscale DLC designs require huge liquid-air heat exchangers adjacent to every rack without facility water, and even then, most GB200 is still 15% air, so racks are spaced apart to ensure enough volume is available. Here is a MAIA100 liquid-air hx; the GB200 one is even bigger.
I am a sucker for photos of cool #HPC infrastructure, and here is a dense GB200 NVL72 cluster going up somewhere in Canada (I think). Impressive to see this many racks in row; the DC must have facility water which is still uncommon in hyperscale.
Source: www.linkedin.com/posts/5cai_h...
Source: www.linkedin.com/posts/5cai_h...
July 16, 2025 at 4:41 PM
I am a sucker for photos of cool #HPC infrastructure, and here is a dense GB200 NVL72 cluster going up somewhere in Canada (I think). Impressive to see this many racks in row; the DC must have facility water which is still uncommon in hyperscale.
Source: www.linkedin.com/posts/5cai_h...
Source: www.linkedin.com/posts/5cai_h...
Now that I am not beholden to an employer, I can say whatever I want online!
But I really never held back before, so I don’t have much to spill now. I am glad to get the corporate device management off my phone though.
But I really never held back before, so I don’t have much to spill now. I am glad to get the corporate device management off my phone though.
July 9, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Now that I am not beholden to an employer, I can say whatever I want online!
But I really never held back before, so I don’t have much to spill now. I am glad to get the corporate device management off my phone though.
But I really never held back before, so I don’t have much to spill now. I am glad to get the corporate device management off my phone though.
I turned in my badge and was escorted from the building, so I guess that means I am officially unemployed! For a few days at least.
July 9, 2025 at 10:12 PM
I turned in my badge and was escorted from the building, so I guess that means I am officially unemployed! For a few days at least.
Photos of a new, big, naked Cerebras cluster in Oklahoma appearing on the socials today. Pretty neat. Wonder if this is another G42 install.
June 28, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Photos of a new, big, naked Cerebras cluster in Oklahoma appearing on the socials today. Pretty neat. Wonder if this is another G42 install.
I just found a corporate blog post that called me “an extremely intelligent Microsoft engineer.” Very flattering! 🤩
But that’s also not what I said/wrote (source: blog.glennklockwood.com/2025/02/llm-...). Maybe misattribution is the highest form of flattery.
But that’s also not what I said/wrote (source: blog.glennklockwood.com/2025/02/llm-...). Maybe misattribution is the highest form of flattery.
June 28, 2025 at 3:53 PM
I just found a corporate blog post that called me “an extremely intelligent Microsoft engineer.” Very flattering! 🤩
But that’s also not what I said/wrote (source: blog.glennklockwood.com/2025/02/llm-...). Maybe misattribution is the highest form of flattery.
But that’s also not what I said/wrote (source: blog.glennklockwood.com/2025/02/llm-...). Maybe misattribution is the highest form of flattery.
I had no idea Fortran for deep learning was anything but a joke, but this talk from LBL is interesting. Apparently it can be really fast (cf. pytorch), and many modern Fortran features may map nicely to the algs used in ML/DL.
#ISC25
#ISC25
June 13, 2025 at 10:29 AM
I had no idea Fortran for deep learning was anything but a joke, but this talk from LBL is interesting. Apparently it can be really fast (cf. pytorch), and many modern Fortran features may map nicely to the algs used in ML/DL.
#ISC25
#ISC25