TACC retires Frontera after more than eight million jobs, and a UT Southwestern simulation that needed 64 of its CPU nodes runs nearly as fast on eight Vista GPU nodes
The Texas Advanced Computing Center at The University of Texas at Austin published its account on October 29th, 2026 of the symposium it held for Texas researchers in September. It says Frontera was retired in October 2026 after more than eight million jobs and over seven years of production, the longest run of any system at the center. For most of its life Frontera was the fastest academic supercomputer in the United States. Its successor Horizon has entered its first phase of early operations. Horizon's power infrastructure is complete, its exabyte capacity storage is in place and the first of its AI focused hardware is being installed. Jose Rizo-Rey of UT Southwestern Medical Center told the symposium his lab typically ran a 5.3 million atom simulation of membrane fusion on 64 CPU nodes of Frontera. It ran at 43 nanoseconds a day. On the center's Vista system he got almost the same speed with eight GPU nodes, after many optimizations of the GROMACS code made with the center's staff. The comparison is one lab's own account in the center's release and not a published benchmark.
How to take part
The account is the center's own release, carried in full by HPCwire with the center's writer named as its source. A research computing result is not a public proceeding and has no window for comment.
Where
1 county. In Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos.
Timeline
- filed
The center publishes its account of the symposium and of Frontera's retirement
- Today
How this decision moved
One dated line per check, oldest first. A line that says nothing changed means somebody looked and it had not.
- 2026-11-10
Admitted on the center's own account of its September symposium. Frontera's retirement and the Vista comparison are both stated in the center's words.
The evidence
Every fact above rests on one of these. The words are the source's own.
Frontera was retired in October 2026, having surpassed eight million jobs.HPCwire, Texas Researchers Converge at TACC for Record-Setting Symposium (the Texas Advanced Computing Center's release) Primary source, official · hpcwire.com
Frontera had over seven years of production life, which is the longest run on any TACC systemHPCwire, Texas Researchers Converge at TACC for Record-Setting Symposium (the Texas Advanced Computing Center's release) Primary source, official · hpcwire.com
For most of its service life, TACC’s Frontera supercomputer was the fastest academic supercomputer in the United StatesHPCwire, Texas Researchers Converge at TACC for Record-Setting Symposium (the Texas Advanced Computing Center's release) Primary source, official · hpcwire.com
Horizon, the centerpiece system of NSF LCCF has entered its first phase of early operations.HPCwire, Texas Researchers Converge at TACC for Record-Setting Symposium (the Texas Advanced Computing Center's release) Primary source, official · hpcwire.com
the power infrastructure is complete, an exabyte-capacity storage system is in place, and the initial deployment of Horizon’s AI-focused hardware is underway.HPCwire, Texas Researchers Converge at TACC for Record-Setting Symposium (the Texas Advanced Computing Center's release) Primary source, official · hpcwire.com
Typically, we’d run a simulation of a 5.3 million-atom system on 64 CPU nodes of Frontera for 43 nanoseconds per day,HPCwire, Texas Researchers Converge at TACC for Record-Setting Symposium (the Texas Advanced Computing Center's release) Primary source, official · hpcwire.com
But now with TACC’s Vista system, using just eight GPU nodes, I got almost the same speed.HPCwire, Texas Researchers Converge at TACC for Record-Setting Symposium (the Texas Advanced Computing Center's release) Primary source, official · hpcwire.com
That required a lot of optimizations with GROMACS, with the help of people here at TACC.HPCwire, Texas Researchers Converge at TACC for Record-Setting Symposium (the Texas Advanced Computing Center's release) Primary source, official · hpcwire.com
He has been running simulations with a vesicle, flat bilayer, and four SNARE protein complexes, which allow vesicles to fuse with their target membranes.HPCwire, Texas Researchers Converge at TACC for Record-Setting Symposium (the Texas Advanced Computing Center's release) Primary source, official · hpcwire.com
The key concept uncovered by simulation and analysis is the SNAREs act as a local detergent that catalyzes the mixing of hydrophobic interiors of the two membranes.HPCwire, Texas Researchers Converge at TACC for Record-Setting Symposium (the Texas Advanced Computing Center's release) Primary source, official · hpcwire.com
More than 200 scientists, researchers, and students from 30 universities, high schools, and industry around the state gathered at the Texas Advanced Computing CenterHPCwire, Texas Researchers Converge at TACC for Record-Setting Symposium (the Texas Advanced Computing Center's release) Primary source, official · hpcwire.com
His research focuses on understanding synaptic transmission, which is regulated by neurons that form compartments along their membranes through fusion.HPCwire, Texas Researchers Converge at TACC for Record-Setting Symposium (the Texas Advanced Computing Center's release) Primary source, official · hpcwire.com
Questions about this decision
Answered from the record itself. Every answer is assembled from stored fields, so an answer the record has no basis for is left out rather than guessed.
What is this decision?
The Texas Advanced Computing Center at The University of Texas at Austin published its account on October 29th, 2026 of the symposium it held for Texas researchers in September. It says Frontera was retired in October 2026 after more than eight million jobs and over seven years of production, the longest run of any system at the center. For most of its life Frontera was the fastest academic supercomputer in the United States. Its successor Horizon has entered its first phase of early operations. Horizon's power infrastructure is complete, its exabyte capacity storage is in place and the first of its AI focused hardware is being installed. Jose Rizo-Rey of UT Southwestern Medical Center told the symposium his lab typically ran a 5.3 million atom simulation of membrane fusion on 64 CPU nodes of Frontera. It ran at 43 nanoseconds a day. On the center's Vista system he got almost the same speed with eight GPU nodes, after many optimizations of the GROMACS code made with the center's staff. The comparison is one lab's own account in the center's release and not a published benchmark.
Who decides it?
Texas Advanced Computing Center, The University of Texas at Austin decides. The record names the deciding body for every entry it carries.
Can the public take part?
The account is the center's own release, carried in full by HPCwire with the center's writer named as its source. A research computing result is not a public proceeding and has no window for comment. No dated public window is on the record. The deciding body is named and reachable.
Where in Texas does it apply?
It covers Travis County.
Has it been decided?
It has been decided. The dates on the item page carry when.
What happens next?
No future date is on the record. The last dated step on it was filed on October 29th.
When did it start?
The earliest date on its record is October 29th, 2026.
What kind of decision is it?
It is filed under research and science.
What sources back it?
One source backs it. It is primary.
Is it on the ERCOT grid?
Yes. It sits inside the ERCOT interconnection.
When was it last checked?
Every fact on it was last verified against its source on November 10th, 2026.
Cite this
Texas AI Docket, TACC retires Frontera after more than eight million jobs, and a UT Southwestern simulation that needed 64 of its CPU nodes runs nearly as fast on eight Vista GPU nodes. Tracked since October 29th, 2026. Last verified November 10th, 2026. https://texasaidocket.com/item/tx-2026-0245/. Reuse permitted under CC BY 4.0 with attribution. The same entry is in the docket JSON as item tx-2026-0245.
Beat
Filed under Research and science, with every other decision on that beat.