ACADEMIA

Scyld Software, the leader in scalable Linux clustering software, announced an agreement with Cluster Resources, Inc., an innovator in advanced workload and resource management software. The two companies have joined forces to extend the virtualization and system management capabilities of Scyld BeowulfTM Linux clustering software to include a powerful workload management toolset, the Scyld TaskMaster Suite. This extension of the Scyld Beowulf product family, known for being the most elegant Linux clustering solution for high performance computing (HPC), sets a new standard for simplicity of deployment, ease of use and Linux cluster utilization. The result of this new alliance represents a significant advance towards a comprehensive virtual environment for Linux clusters. Scyld is previewing the new software at Linux World 2005 booth #432. The Scyld TaskMaster Suite provides end users and system administrators with a sophisticated workload policy manager, advanced scheduling and highly intuitive graphical user interface accessible locally or through a remote Web portal. Scyld Beowulf’s world-class resource provisioning and single point of management, combined with the Scyld TaskMaster capabilities provide the best of all worlds ease of use, flexibility and scalability for system administrators plus intuitive, optimized cluster usage for scientists, design engineers and researchers. Users are able to concentrate on their project priorities instead of struggling with the complex infrastructure of workload and system management. Customers using the new capabilities of Scyld TaskMaster Suite will reap the combined benefits of Cluster Resources’ acknowledged expertise in next-generation workload and policy management and Scyld Software’s expertise in delivering the most advanced and robust commercial-grade Linux cluster environment. Cluster Resources’ customers have experienced significant performance improvements with system utilization levels in the 90% to 99% range, and Scyld Software’s customers have experienced total cost of ownership savings approaching 50% compared to alternative clustering approaches including open source options like Rocks. Together, Scyld Beowulf and the Scyld TaskMaster Suite provide a fully integrated and virtualized HPC cluster environment that is robust and scalable, yet works out of the box. "Scyld Beowulf is known for dramatically simplifying the deployment and management of Linux clusters," said Marco Annaratone, general manager of Scyld Software. "The new policy based task management capabilities of the Scyld TaskMaster Suite are a huge step towards delivering a fully virtualized environment for HPC users. The graphical user interface and Web based access allow engineers, scientists and researchers to spend more time focused on critical development efforts rather than cluster and workload management issues, improving overall productivity, quality and time to result." “The alliance between Scyld Software and Cluster Resources is a signal event for the HPC community” said Michael Jackson, president of Cluster Resources, Inc. “Scyld’s elegant design takes the complexity out of clusters, delivering an easy to use, unbounded virtual resource. The integration of highly intuitive, intelligent workload management enables HPC users to align their computational needs with individual and organizational priorities. Best of all, this powerful solution works out of the box, a ‘Linux cluster to go’ package.” Scyld Beowulf Series 29 Linux clustering software is available today and is currently deployed at over 180 organizations, supporting thousands of nodes. The Scyld TaskMaster Suite will be available in September 2005.