It’s Time to Talk About HPC Storage: Perspectives on the Past and Future

High-performance computing (HPC) storage systems are a key component of the success of HPC to date. Recently, we have seen major developments in storage-related technologies, as well as changes to how HPC platforms are used, especially in relation to artificial intelligence and experimental data analysis workloads. These developments merit a revisit of HPC storage system architectural designs. In this paper we discuss the drivers, identify key challenges to status quo posed by these developments, and discuss directions future research might take to unlock the potential of new technologies for the breadth of HPC applications.