In the early days of high-performance computing (HPC) in the area of the federal country Berlin since 1970, the large scale compute systems where operated at Großrechenzentrum Berlin (GRZ) and Wissenschaftliches Rechenzentrum Berlin (WRB). Since the foundation of the ZIB in 1984 it is the central place for scientific computing and HPC in Berlin. Until the end of the 1990s procurements and operation of compute systems were organized as a member of the alliance Norddeutscher Vektorrechner-Verbund (NVV). In the time between 2001 and 2020 the ZIB was one of two distinct sites in the alliance Norddeutscher Verbund für Hoch- und Höchstleistungsrechnen (HLRN). Since 2021 the ZIB is a member in the alliance Nationales Hochleistungsrechnen (NHR) and thus a fundamental element in the national infrastructure of high-performance computing in Germany.
Complementing the operation of compute systems since the early 1990s the ZIB established the concept of scientific consulting. Experts from application areas with a background in scientific computing are the contacts for the research projects on the ZIB side. This enabled and simplified the transition from clusters at universities to high-performance compute systems.
The operation of high-performance compute systems is a part of the mission of the ZIB since its foundation in 1984. At that time it was the continuation of procurements and operation of HPC systems for the scientific research community in the area of the federal country of Berlin. This evolution is shown in list of operated compute systems at ZIB.
