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C Review of the High Performance Computing and Communications Initiative Budget The committee attempted a nontraditional look at how High Performance Computing and Communications Initiative (HPCCI) funds are being invested.' Traditional HPCCI budget reports show budget breakdowns by agency and by program component (High-Performance Computing Systems, National Research and Education Network, Advanced Software Technology and Algorithms, Information Infrastructure Technology and Applications, and Basic Research and Human Resources). The committee found it informative to examine the funding from a functional perspective to understand what sort of technical work is being performed and in what quantity. The committee separated the 88 HPCCI program elements into 11 disciplines defined as indicated below:
· Computer technology (CPT)—applied research directed at advancing the state of computer architecture and hardware technology;
· Software technology (SWT)—applied research directed at advancing the state of computer software technology;
· Communications technology (CMT)—applied research directed at advancing the state of communications technology;
· Computing infrastructure (CPI)—acquisition and operation of supercomputer facilities;
· Communications infrastructure (CMI)—acquisition and operation of high-performance computer communications networks and services;
· Applications and computational science (APP)—creation of software and computational techniques directed at solving specific scientific problems and applications;
· Common applications support (CAS)—creation of software and computational techniques to support a range of applications across multiple disciplines;
· Artificial intelligence and human-machine interaction (AI)—applied research directed at solving artificial intelligence and human interface problems.
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· Basic hardware technology (BHW)-basic electronics research supporting electronic components that might be applied to a wide variety of systems, including computers and communications systems;
· Education (EDU)—training and education; and
· Administration (ADM)—National Coordination Office.
The committee classified 86 of the 88 program elements as coming under I of the 11 disciplines listed above, based on each program element's FY 1995 milestones (Table C.1). If a program element appeared to fit into more than one discipline, the committee categorized it by examining the element's milestones to determine where the majority of the program activity was concentrated. Two of the larger Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) program activities (Intelligent Systems and Software, and Information Sciences) were split between two disciplines.
Table C.2 shows the FY 1993 actual budget, the FY 1995 request,2and the percentage change in the HPCCI budget for each of these 11 disciplines.
BUDGET REVIEW It is interesting to examine the HPCCI budget to see which areas are being emphasized and to compare these with the HPCCI's goals and objectives. As indicated also in Chapter 2, the current program goals are as follows:
· Extend U.S. leadership in high-performance computing and networking technologies;
· Disseminate the technologies to accelerate innovation and serve the economy, national security, education, and the environment; and
· Spur gains in U.S. productivity and industrial competitiveness.
The computer technology, software technology, and communications technology disciplines address the goals of extending technical leadership in computing and communications and providing key enabling technologies for the information infrastructure. The budget for these three disciplines accounted for 32.9 percent of the FY 1993 actual budget and 30.5 percent of the FY 1995 requested budget.
The largest part of the HPCCI budget is invested in applications and supercomputer computing infrastructure to support applications—49.8 percent of the FY 1993 actual budget and 50.1 percent of the FY 1995 requested budget. Applications and computational science, common applications support, artificial intelligence and human-machine interaction, and computing infrastructure programs are included. The rest of the budget requested for FY 1995 is divided among basic hardware technology (5.1 percent), communications infrastructure (7.9 percent), education (5.6 percent), and a very small amount for program administration.
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TABLE C.1 Mapping of Agencies, HPCCI Budget Allocations, Program Elements, and Discipline Categories
AgencyA
1995 Requested ($M)
1993 Actual ($M)
DisciplineB
Program ElementC
ARPA
36.15
11.35
Al
Intelligent systems and software
ARPA
36.15
11.35
SWT
ARPA
60.20
44.90
CPT
Scalable computing systems
ARPA
44.50
33.50
BHW
Microsystems
ARPA
43.10
34.80
CMT
Networking
ARPA
33.90
38.00
SWT
National-scale information enterprises
ARPA
29.60
36.50
SWT
Scalable software
ARPA
23.00
00.00
CMT
Global grid communications
ARPA
10.50
15.10
Al
Information sciences
ARPA
10.50
15.10
SWT
ARPA
14.00
13.90
EDU
Foundations
ARPA
09.80
00.00
APP
Health information infrastructure
ARPA
06.00
00.00
BHW
Integrated command and control technology
NSF
76.43
63.89
CPI
Supercomputer centers
NSF
46.16
30.10
CMI
NSFNET
NSF
35.25
00.00
CAS
Information infrastructure technology and applications program
NSF
25.35
21.79
SWT
Software systems and algorithms
NSF
20.95
18.65
CPI
Research infrastructure
NSF
20.70
18.76
CPT
Computing systems and components
NSF
20.24
15.34
EDU
Education and training
NSF
11.50
07.80
APP
Biological sciences (non-NC/GC)
NSF
11.30
09.80
CMT
Very high speed networks and optical systems
NSF
11.00
10.40
Al
Human machine interaction and information access
NSF
10.75
07.00
CAS
Grand Challenge applications groups
NSF
10.55
09.20
CAS
Research centers
NSF
09.77
02.75
APP
Physical sciences (non-NC/GC)
NSF
07.59
05.72
CAS
Computational mathematics (non-NC/GC)
continues
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TABLE C. 1—continued
AgencyA
1995 Requested ($M)
1993 Actual ($M)
DisciplineB
Program ElementsC
NSF
04.23
02.17
APP
Engineering (non-NC/GC)
NSF
03.84
01.15
CPI
Geosciences (non-NC/GC)
NSF
03.01
00.65
APP
Social, behavioral, and economic sciences (non-NC/GC)
DOE
35.60
35.13
CPI
Supercomputer access
DOE
16.00
1 5.25
CAS
Basic research for applied mathematics research
DOE
14.80
07.68
CMI
Energy sciences network (Esnet)
DOE
12.90
07.15
CPI
High-performance computing research centers
DOE
12.60
08.98
CAS
Software components and tools
DOE
09.90
07.73
CPI
Evaluation of early systems
DOE
09.00
06.53
APP
Enabling energy Grand Challenges
DOE
03.40
02.44
CAS
Computational techniques
DOE
03.00
02.36
EDU
Education, training, and curriculum
DOE
02.00
02.60
EDU
Research participation and training
DOE
02.00
01.86
CMT
Gigabit research and development
DOE
02.00
01.80
APP
High-performance research centers-global climate collaboration
DOE
01.20
00.00
CAS
Information infraservices
DOE
01.00
00.00
CPI
Advanced prototype systems
NASA
55.30
46.80
APP
Grand Challenge support
NASA
26.40
17.60
CPI
Testbeds
NASA
12.70
08.50
CMI
National Research and Education Network (NREN)
NASA
10.70
00.00
EDU
Information infrastructure applications
NASA
09.20
05.40
SWT
Systems software
NASA
06.80
00.00
CAS
Information infrastructure technology
NASA
03.80
03.30
EDU
Basic research and human resources
NIH
11.00
08.00
CPI
DCRT high-performance biomedical computing program
continues
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TABLE C.1—continued
AgencyA
1995 Request ($M)
1993 Actual ( $M)
DisciplineB
ProgramC
NIH
11.00
01.50
APP
National Library of Medicine high-performance computing and communications health care applications
NIH
08.80
03.40
APP
NCRR information infrastructure technology applications
NIH
08.80
06.80
APP
NCRR advanced software technology and algorithms
NIH
06.70
06.30
CPI
NCI Frederick biomedical supercomputing center
NIH
06.50
00.40
CMI
NLM medical connections program
NIH
05.40
03.80
CAS
NLM IAIMS grants
NIH
05.00
03.10
EDU
NCRR basic research and human resources
NIH
04.80
04.10
APP
NLM biotechnology informatics
NIH
04.70
05.00
CAS
NLM intelligent agent database searching
NIH
03.60
02.90
EDU
NLM HPCCI training grants
NIH
02.20
01.50
APP
NLM electronic imaging
NIH
02.00
00.00
CMI
NCI high-speed networking and distributed conferencing
NIH
00.70
00.40
ADM
National Coordination Office
NIH
00.60
00.00
APP
High-performance communications for PDQ, Cancer Net, and electronic publishing
NSA
26.10
00.00
CPT
Supercomputing research
NSA
05.70
00.00
SWT
Secure operating system development
NSA
03.50
00.00
CMT
Very high speed networking
NSA
02.60
00.00
CMT
High-speed data protection electronics
NSA
02.00
00.00
BHW
Superconducting research
NSA
00.23
00.00
EDU
Technology-based training
NIST
25.20
00.00
CAS
Systems integral for manufacturing applications
NIST
07.60
00.60
APP
Development and dissemination of scientific software for high-performance computing systems
continues
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TABLE C. 1—continued
AgencyA
1995 Requested ($M)
1993 Actual ($M)
DisciplineB
Program ElementC
NIST
06.45
00.00
BHW
Metrology for future generations of microelectronics
NIST
04.00
00.00
CAS
Language, image, and text processing
NIST
04.00
00.00
SWT
Specification and testing of high-integrity, distributed systems
NIST
02.75
00.00
CAS
Support for electronic commerce
NIST
02.20
01.50
CMT
Deployment and performance measures for gigabit nets and massively parallel processor systems
NIST
01.75
00.00
CMT
Metrology to support mobile and fixed-base communications networks
NIST
01.25
00.00
CAS
Electronic libraries and distributed multimedia applications
NIST
01.20
00.00
SWT
Assurance, reliability, and integrity of NREN objects
NOAA
16.05
09.40
APP
Advanced computation
NOAA
08.70
00.40
CMI
Networking connectivity
NOAA
00.50
00.00
APP
Information dissemination pilots
EPA
06.45
05.33
APP
Environmental modeling
EPA
05.25
01.31
APP
Computational techniques
EPA
01.97
01.16
EDU
Education and training
EPA
00.70
00.21
CMI
State network connectivity
EPA
00.30
00.00
APP
Public data access
AARPA, Advanced Research Projects Agency; NSF, National Science Foundation; DOE, Department of Energy; NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration; NIH, National Institutes of Health; NSA, National Security Agency; NIST, National Institute of Standards and Technology; NOAA, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration; EPA, Environmental Protection Agency.
BAl, artificial intelligence and human-machine interaction; SWT, software technology; CPT, computer technology; BHW, basic hardware technology; CMT, communications technology; EDU, education and training; APP, applications and computational science; CAS, common applications support; CPI, computing infrastructure; CMI, communications infrastructure; ADM, National Coordination Office.
CNC/GC, National Challenge/Grand Challenge; DCRT, Division of Computer Research and Technology (NIH); IAIMS, Integrated Academic Information Management System; NLM, National Library of Medicine; NCRR, National Center for Research Resources (NIH); NCI, National Cancer Institute (NIH); PDQ, Physician Data Query (NIH).
SOURCE: Data on agency budgets and program activities were extracted from the FY 1995 Implementation Plan prepared by the National Coordination Office (1994).
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TABLE C.2 Actual FY 1 993 and Requested FY 1995 HPCCI Budget (millions of dollars) Categorized by Discipline
Discipline
1993
1995
Percentage Change
Computer technology
63.66
107.00
68
Software technology
128.14
155.60
21
Communications technology
47.96
89.45
86
Computing infrastructure
165.60
204.72
23
Communications infrastructure
47.29
91.56
94
Applications and computational science
102.44
176.96
73
Common applications support
57.39
147.44
157
Artificial intelligence and human-machine nteraction
36.85
57.65
56
Basic hardware technology
33.50
58.95
76
Education
44.66
64.54
45
Administration
0.40
0.70
75
TOTAL program
727.89
1154.56
59
Alternatively, the 11 discipline categories can be used to examine the balance between support for discipline-specific scientific research that uses high-performance computing and communications technologies and support for computer science research on new high-performance computing and communications technologies. Analysis of the FY 1995 HPCCI budget request shows that $352 million (30 percent) would be invested in basic research in computer, software, and communications technologies; $205 million (18 percent) in applied computer science research, artificial intelligence, and human-machine interaction; $176 million (15 percent) in direct support of applications and computational science; and $297 million (26 percent) in computing and communications infrastructure.
Commentary: Many Possibilities for Misinterpretation The HPCCI has enjoyed a certain amount of political support and is growing even in a time of very tight federal budgets. The committee believes that this has created a ''bandwagon" effect: the initiative has had its scope extended by the inclusion of some work not directly related to the HPCCI's goals, however valuable it may be, or work with broad relevance. The result has been a less than focused program.
For example, all high-performance computing and communications systems are built from electronics and depend directly on advancements in basic electronic technology. The ARPA Microsystems program activity, which constitutes the large majority of the basic hardware discipline, supports research in basic electronics technologies. This research will eventually benefit
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the high-performance computing and communications technology base and help advance the nation's information infrastructure, but it could also be used in a wide variety of other contexts.
Another problem is the possible creation of false expectations about the extent to which the HPCCI could create the technology necessary for advancing the nation's information infrastructure. A large amount of work within the two applications disciplines is directed primarily toward the use of high-performance computing in solving certain scientific and agency mission problems. Only a part of this work, such as the creation of digital libraries, would apply directly to the goal of enhancing the nation's information infrastructure. Some of this work is directed at challenging computational science problems, which have excellent scientific impact but whose results are more easily justified as scientific results, rather than HPCCI results. Also, the HPCCI invests much more heavily in computing than in communications. Less than 16 percent of the FY 1995 request is for communications technology and infrastructure.
About one-third of the program is directed toward creating new technology directly applicable to advancing the information infrastructure. The growth in funding in these areas is offset by an unrelated decrease in research investment by industry, spurred in part by competitive changes in the computer and communications industries. As a result, the nation's total amount of research in high-performance computing and communications technologies is considerably less than it appears, and in fact may be insufficient to maintain the strategic U.S. lead in these technologies or to support the rapid deployment of an enhanced information infrastructure.
NOTES 1. CPSMA (1994), p. 7; this report points out that labor-intensive, detailed disaggregation of published data may be the only way to understand how research program budgets are spent.
2. Amounts shown for FY 1995 are Executive Budget requests. At press time, agency appropriations had been made, but the involved agencies had not disaggregated the appropriations and reported the HPCCI portions to the National Coordination Office. A 2-year time period, FY 1993 to FY 1995, was used to help dampen any single-year jumps in level.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
communications technology