ACADEMIA

The popular WulfKit3 clustering hardware and software solution from Dolphin Interconnect, used for building large high-performance computing clusters, now features a removable cable connector known as EasyDock. EasyDock, which has connections for six SCI (scalable coherent interface) cables, can be removed from the WulfKit3 SCI adapter card for convenient access to a single server node in the computing cluster just by simply loosening two screws. This allows the cable loom in a large cluster to be detached from server nodes without disconnecting individual cables, enabling faster assembly and maintenance of the cluster hardware and avoiding disruption of the cabling 3D matrix. "The WulfKit3 with EasyDock will speed assembly of large clusters and make them easier to maintain," said Kare Lochsen, CEO of Dolphin Interconnect. "This is especially important in a 3D cluster, where the cabling is more complex than a 2D cluster. Removing a server from the cluster can be accomplished in just seconds and by not having to disconnect the individual cables, cabling errors are avoided when reconnecting the node," Lochsen explained. WulfKit3 with EasyDock will also ship with the new Scali MPI Connect™ for SCI software. Scali MPI Connect is a message passing interface that manages inter-node communications throughout the cluster, taking advantage of the superior performance features of the SCI interconnect platform--high speed and low latency--and thus enabling the very high performance that can be achieved in clusters built with WulfKit3. Scali MPI Connect for SCI includes several high-performance libraries, including SCI driver, high-performance MPI implementation, and Hyper-Threading support for Xeon™ and Pentium® processors. The latest release also includes full support for the AMD Opteron™ processor as well as Redhat Enterprise Linux 3 and SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server 8. Optional cluster management software, Scali Manage™, is available. Scali Manage includes such features as system installation, monitoring and maintenance, remote management, interactive application launching and batch queue management. Open source software is also available from Dolphin, including SCI-MPICH, an open source MPICH implementation for SCI by the University of Aachen, SCI Fast Sockets, a new socket library for SCI with high bandwidth and a very low latency, SCI-IP for running High Speed TCP/IP over SCI, and SISCI Developers Kit, Dolphin's API that enables users to take full advantage of SCI hardware capabilities. "These enhancements will continue to make WulfKit3 a popular choice for researchers and others building high-performance supercomputing clusters and seeking low cost per Gigaflop," said Keith Murphy, US Sales Manager for Dolphin Interconnect. WulfKit3 with EasyDock and Fast Sockets will be featured on the Dolphin Interconnect booth 2119 at the SuperComputing 2003 show, which opens tomorrow in Phoenix, Arizona.