ACADEMIA
World's Third-fastest Computer Gets Up and Running in Just 48 Hours
Though Other Supercomputers Can Take Months to Deploy, 14,336-Core SGI Altix ICE System Boots in Less Than Two Days: The third most powerful computer on the planet took center stage yesterday as New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson joined other leaders in saluting the arrival of the massive supercomputer that will drive groundbreaking research for education and commerce in the state. A 14,336-core SGI Altix ICE system from SGI, the supercomputer is noteworthy for more than its sheer power: the new system was up and running only 48 hours after it arrived. That's a significant accomplishment because many top-ranked supercomputers can take weeks or even months to deploy. 
"We wanted a production system — one that could be used to run applications soon after its arrival — and that's exactly what we got with SGI Altix ICE," said William Feiereisen, a science advisor to Governor Richardson. "This system arrived on pallets on Thursday and was running to the log-in prompt by Saturday. It's gratifying to be working with a solution provider like SGI, which has successfully delivered a true production-ready supercomputer." Outfitted with Intel Xeon processors, 28 Terabytes (TB) of memory, and a 172TB SGI InfiniteStorage 4500 solution, the integrated system is housed at the Intel Corporation facility in Rio Rancho, N.M. The state acquired the system as part of an economic and educational development effort driven by Governor Richardson. Through the New Mexico Computing Applications Center (NMCAC), the state plans to leverage the supercomputer and storage resource to partner with private businesses and New Mexico universities on research and development projects, attract top academic researchers, and help communities solve complex problems. "New Mexico is serious about developing its high-tech economy," Governor Bill Richardson said. "We're getting more and more interest from companies and institutions that want to be part of this project as news of this powerful machine spreads." Joining Governor Richardson and other dignitaries at today's ribbon-cutting is Dave Parry, senior vice president and product general manager at SGI. "This new supercomputer is an ideal example of the latest generation of high-productivity computing systems from SGI that deliver not just world-class performance, but a ‘power up and go' user experience," Parry said. "Governor Richardson deserves much credit for having the vision to see the educational and economic development potential of a facility like NMCAC. We at SGI are delighted to be part of this effort, and to be able to deliver a supercomputing and storage solution that will enable engineers and researchers to become productive immediately." In addition to the supercomputer, the facility will leverage an advanced data management solution that will allow users to access and store massive amounts of scientific or engineering information. Built on storage array technology from LSI Corporation, the SGI InfiniteStorage deployment incorporates the Lustre networked cluster filesystem. SGI is integrating and testing the system, the SGI InfiniteStorage solution and Lustre with the assistance of two New Mexico technology companies:
"We wanted a production system — one that could be used to run applications soon after its arrival — and that's exactly what we got with SGI Altix ICE," said William Feiereisen, a science advisor to Governor Richardson. "This system arrived on pallets on Thursday and was running to the log-in prompt by Saturday. It's gratifying to be working with a solution provider like SGI, which has successfully delivered a true production-ready supercomputer." Outfitted with Intel Xeon processors, 28 Terabytes (TB) of memory, and a 172TB SGI InfiniteStorage 4500 solution, the integrated system is housed at the Intel Corporation facility in Rio Rancho, N.M. The state acquired the system as part of an economic and educational development effort driven by Governor Richardson. Through the New Mexico Computing Applications Center (NMCAC), the state plans to leverage the supercomputer and storage resource to partner with private businesses and New Mexico universities on research and development projects, attract top academic researchers, and help communities solve complex problems. "New Mexico is serious about developing its high-tech economy," Governor Bill Richardson said. "We're getting more and more interest from companies and institutions that want to be part of this project as news of this powerful machine spreads." Joining Governor Richardson and other dignitaries at today's ribbon-cutting is Dave Parry, senior vice president and product general manager at SGI. "This new supercomputer is an ideal example of the latest generation of high-productivity computing systems from SGI that deliver not just world-class performance, but a ‘power up and go' user experience," Parry said. "Governor Richardson deserves much credit for having the vision to see the educational and economic development potential of a facility like NMCAC. We at SGI are delighted to be part of this effort, and to be able to deliver a supercomputing and storage solution that will enable engineers and researchers to become productive immediately." In addition to the supercomputer, the facility will leverage an advanced data management solution that will allow users to access and store massive amounts of scientific or engineering information. Built on storage array technology from LSI Corporation, the SGI InfiniteStorage deployment incorporates the Lustre networked cluster filesystem. SGI is integrating and testing the system, the SGI InfiniteStorage solution and Lustre with the assistance of two New Mexico technology companies:
- Abba Technologies, an employee-owned and minority-owned corporation, is a market leader in IT advisory and systems integration headquartered in Albuquerque (www.abbatech.com). Abba consultants will implement a network security firewall system, set up user access security polices, and integrate network hardware equipment.
- POD, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of RESPEC, Inc., is a nationally renowned Albuquerque-based IT services and applications development firm serving government, non-profit and commercial clients (www.podassoc.com). POD professionals will provide local on-site technical support.
The system, whose purchase was announced on Nov. 2, 2007, by New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, claims the No. 3 position on the internationally recognized Top500 list of the world's most powerful supercomputers. Capable of executing up to 172 trillion operations per second, the system will be used to enable breakthroughs in areas ranging from aerospace and automotive design to drug development, alternative energy development and film production.