APPLICATIONS

Streamline Computing, a leading provider of High Performance Technical Computing (HPTC) systems and software, has announced the launch of its newly re-architected CMAv2 product. Based in Warwick, UK, Streamline has been responsible for building and integrating many leading-edge compute clusters in the UK, Europe, the Middle-East and North America. Its Cluster Management Appliance (CMA) is a commercially available and supported product that provides a powerful yet easy-to-use cluster monitoring, management and administration capability. The latest version of this product offers a number of new features and enhancements, including improved security, imaging and UI capabilities, which assist cluster users and administrators in making the most effective use of their systems. “HPTC clusters are a proven way to leverage low-cost, commodity components to obtain optimal price-performance,” states Dr. John Taylor, CTO of Streamline Computing. “Our customers demand the highest performing systems with the lowest management overhead, but as systems grow in size and complexity, keeping track of the status and performance of all components requires increasingly sophisticated techniques. CMA provides a simple point-and-click interface to the cluster, allowing scientists to concentrate on the science rather than worrying about supporting the machine itself.” As a cluster appliance, CMAv2 is available on a dedicated hardware platform that is installed into the cluster as part of the cluster building process. CMAv2 is then accessed via secure SSL-based interfaces to manage, monitor and administer the cluster without impacting the cluster’s performance. An optional external network connection provides true lights-out cluster management from virtually any location. CMAv2 interfaces with a cluster both at the operating system (OS) level and by integrating with Base-board Management Controllers (BMC) and Integrated Platform Management Interfaces (IPMI) on compatible servers. CMAv2 collects OS and hardware metrics including CPU temperatures and fan speeds as well as error detection and correction signals. Data can be plotted graphically and alerts can be triggered according to factory-set and user-defined thresholds. Cluster administrators have the benefit of being able to run diagnostics and control the power state of any combination of compute nodes to provide additional assistance to administrator and support teams. Capturing and deploying software images of compute nodes is now easier than ever with CMAv2: GUI users are walked through the process with a simple wizard, while more advanced users can use CMAv2’s command-line interface (CLI) tools to re-image nodes on demand or as required by the cluster’s resource scheduler. “We wanted to make CMAv2 beneficial to both novice users and experienced System Administrators,” explains Wil Mayers, Technical Product Manager at Streamline Computing, “so many of CMA’s features are now available via the command-line interface as well as through the web GUI. The latter is simple and straightforward for first-time users while the CLI opens up huge potential for more advanced integration with other systems and management tools. Features such as real-time job output displays and automatic target OS selection make managing tasks across your cluster estate far easier to perform when using CMAv2. The completely new architecture used for this version of the product enables us to implement a whole new range of features for up-coming releases”. The Streamline Computing CMAv2 is now available as a component in new clusters and as an upgrade to existing clusters – contact sales@streamline-computing.com for more information on pricing and upgrade compatibility. Streamline Computing will be exhibiting and demonstrating CMAv2 at the ISC, Dresden from June 26-29.