Where Industry and Security Intersect
What's New | Sitemap | Search
Practitioner's Guide to Adjusted Peak Performance: The Bureau of Industry and Security is pleased to provide a Practioner's Guide to Adjusted Peak Performance to aid in the calculation of the Weighted Teraflops (WT) values of high performance computers. This Guide has been prepared in conjunction with the Information Systems Technical Advisory Committee (ISTAC).
High Performance Computer Update: On April 24, 2006, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amended the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to implement the Wassenaar Arrangement’s December 2005 agreement to revised the formula for calculating computer performance from Composite Theoretical Performance (CTP), measured in Millions of Theoretical Operations Per Second (MTOPS) to Adjusted Peak Performance (APP), measured in Weighted TeraFLOPS (Trillion Floating point Operations Per Second)(WT). This amendment also established new control levels in Category 4 of the Commerce Control List (CCL) expressed in WT. In addition, this amendment renamed License Exception CTP to License Exception APP (Adjusted Peak Performance) to correspond to the new formula. Pursuant to the Wassenaar Arrangement agreement, the control level for computers controlled for national security reasons is 0.75 WT. The amendment also moved Bulgaria from Computer Tier 3 to Computer Tier 1 effective June 3, 2006, removed High Performance Computer (XP) and Missile Technology (MT) controls from certain Export Control Classification Numbers (ECCNs) in Category 4 of the CCL, and removed the section of the EAR (section 742.12) dedicated to various requirements for high performance computers.
On-line access to the EAR -- Parts 740.7 of the Export Administration Regulations address HPC export control requirements.
Control Levels for Computers and Computer Technology and Software – This chart summarizes the CTP and APP control levels for commodities, software and technology
License Exception TSR and License Exception APP Levels for Computers and Computer Technology and Software – this chart summarizes the previous CTP control levels and the current APP control levels for License Exceptions TSR and APP
Computer Tier 1 and Computer Tier 3 Countries – lists countries in each tier alphabetically
Control Levels in Weighted TeraFLOPS by EAR Section (as set forth in the April 24, 2006 Amendment to the EAR) – This chart summarizes the WT control levels by EAR section.
HPC License Processing - explains the lifecycle of an HPC license application
Security and Safeguard Plans (SSPs) - provides information relating to SSP requirements, plus the most commonly required safeguards. Links to a sample Standard SSP
General Policy and Processing Guidance for HPC licenses - general guidance on process and policy issues that often cause confusion or delay in processing licenses
Guidelines for Preparing Export License Applications for HPCs - step-by-step instructions on how to fill out the BIS 748-P form for HPC licenses and what additional information and documents must be provided with the license application in order for the license to be processed in a timely manner.
This page is designed to serve as a licensing and policy navigation tool for exporters of high performance computers (HPCs) and components. HPC licensing and policy can be complex. We are providing the information linked to this page in order to help smooth the licensing process and to make the policy more transparent. We recommend that you review the documents in the order they appear in the right hand column, so that you may gain a more complete understanding of the licensing process. If you have additional questions about licensing requirements or HPC policy, please call the number listed below.
Tel: 202-482-0707
Fax: 202-501-0784