Swiss DALCO, one of Europe’s leading suppliers of high-performance computing solutions, has doubled the computer power for Alinghi, Defender of the 32nd America's Cup. The Supercomputer was designed and custom-built by DALCO to meet Alinghi's demand for increased computer power to best evaluate the latest design developments, to simulate their effects and to adapt and integrate them as fast as possible during this critical phase of the competition.
The use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is becoming increasingly important around the boat, requiring extensive computing power. CFD is used everywhere: keel, bulb, winglets, hulls, rudder, masts, sails, and rigging. It requires immense computer power to simulate the tiniest details of the flow around these structures.
“Massive computer power is essential to drive the yachts to the limit. Higher CFD precision requires power for quick results to reduce the need for water testing. The complex flow features also have to be visualised to better understand the interaction of various phenomena we see when sailing,” explains Grant Simmer, Alinghi Managing Director and Design Team Coordinator. “We obtain our performance advantage with higher CFD precision which in turn requires much higher computer power,” concludes Jim Bungener, member of the design team, specialised in CFD. Alinghi has enormous supercomputer power, with over 600 processor-cores at their disposal, engineered by the Dallmann brothers, young Swiss entrepreneurs and owners of DALCO. Until recently this power would have ranked among the worlds largest supercomputers. “DALCO is proud to be an Official Supplier of Alinghi and to help them to win the America’s Cup again,” says Christian Dallmann, founder and CEO of DALCO. “DALCO and Alinghi share a combined passion to master state-of-the-art technology and speed.” François Dallmann, Vice President engineering at DALCO, adds: "We are excited about the opportunity and confident that our proven and robust set of technologies will help Alinghi to defend its title in 2007. Our two companies have much in common: the same requirements for precision, the same dedication to quality, the constant search for the best possible solution. While DALCO provides state-of-the-art technology, Alinghi leverages it to win.”
The supercomputer is integrated and optimised using DALCO's own cluster management software and best practices. Furthermore, co-operation between DALCO and Alinghi's technical staff allows for rapid deployment of new technology. The Alinghi system was prepared at DALCO’s Supercomputing Center in Volketswil - a high-tech facility unique in Switzerland - before it was shipped to Valencia, Spain.
