ECONOMICS

Audi, the international high-quality car manufacturer, has selected Intel Itanium 2 processor-based HP Integrity servers to perfect design efforts related to engine cooling and air conditioning for the ultimate luxury in-car experience. The high performance levels delivered by the Itanium 2 processor-powered HP Integrity servers enable faster, more accurate simulations and design calculations, which will reduce the product development cycle and improve Audi's competitive advantage. Audi migrated from RISC-based servers to Itanium processor-based servers to optimize computer aided engineering (CAE) systems that blueprint in-car cooling and air conditioning. The systems pinpoint how heat is extracted and the impact it has on the performance of Audi automobiles. The design team can now complete more complex simulations, which enable Audi to devise the best ways to de-ice, ventilate and air-condition its cars. The HP Integrity servers also run a MSC.Nastran application, which builds bodywork models and optimizes designs to achieve best performance from new vehicles. Audi utilized the HP Solution Center in Boeblingen, Germany to test and validate their HP Integrity solution. "By using Itanium 2-based HP Integrity servers we have been able to greatly increase the throughput of our MSC.Nastran simulations in comparison with the legacy RISC systems that were previously in use," said Hans-Ulrik von Bulow, senior CAE systems and methods analyst, Audi AG. "The Itanium 2-based servers have enabled us to better utilise the computer resources at our disposal by significantly shortening the simulation time in comparison with the RISC-based systems previously in use." Audi considered a number of solutions but chose a cluster of two-way HP Integrity rx2600 servers. The Itanium 2-based HP systems were selected for the price/performance ratio, which were significantly better than other servers when tested within a controlled environment. Additionally, the scalability of the Itanium processor platform will allow Audi to easily and cost-effectively expand the system as future growth requires. The deployment was conducted within a short period of time and the ease of migration enabled applications running on legacy servers to be powered immediately by the new system. "The complex design work and calculations that contribute to the in-car experience and engine performance demands a high level of computing power," said Tom Garrison, director of enterprise marketing, Intel Europe Middle East and Africa. "Audi's move to Itanium 2-based HP Integrity servers is the latest example of the important role that Itanium platforms play in the automotive sector. Audi is benefiting from the Itanium processor's ability to handle the most demanding tasks and carry out calculations significantly quicker, which is reducing the product development cycle and improving the company's competitive advantage." Following the migration from the legacy proprietary system, a total of 25 desktop workstations located in Audi's Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm data centres will access the new HP Integrity rx2600 servers running HP-UX 11i v2. This spring, Audi intends to migrate a server based on 64 RISC processors, which supports exterior aerodynamics software, to an Itanium 2-based HP Integrity server. The company also plans to migrate 25 percent of its CAE workstations to Intel(R) Xeon(TM) processors to power graphics-intensive programs.