IBM donated and installed two POWER8 and FPGA servers in the Deep Learning Lab of the CREDIT center in the Roy G. Perry College of Engineering at Prairie View A&M University. The advanced POWER8 server facilitates big data computing, while FPGAs speeds up computing while maintaining high-energy efficiency. It typically costs upwards of $2,000 per month to rent such equipment.

“At 1TB and 256GB memory respectively, and up to 160 threads each, these systems are optimized for in-memory computing frameworks such as Apache Spark and (NoSQL) databases,” said H. Peter Hofstee, a distinguished research staff member at the IBM Austin Research Laboratory. “Each system is also equipped with a shared-memory (CAPI) FPGA, providing new opportunities to integrate new big data frameworks with FPGA-based logic for acceleration or teach advanced classes on FPGA programming.”

Faculty and students can take advantage of the new equipment in the Deep Learning Lab, which is located in the Electrical Engineering Building, room 223.

“We are excited about receiving the equipment because it will continue to allow PVAMU to engage in cutting-edge innovation and research,” said Roy G. Perry College of Engineering Dean Pamela Obiomon. “We are looking forward to integrating IBM’s servers and FPGAs into our existing NVIDIA platform and continuing to be leaders in this area.”