ENGINEERING

A Dell high-performance computing cluster (HPCC) will support Princeton University student and faculty research for subjects ranging from engineering and physics to the study of the brain, mind and behavior at Princeton University. According to Curt Hillegas of Princeton's Office of Information Technology (OIT), the 34-node cluster is expected to: -- provide an easily accessible resource to the increasing number of researchers who require high-performance computing; -- serve as a teaching tool for classes and workshops in order to facilitate better graduate and undergraduate training in computational techniques and theory; and -- provide a testing ground for the OIT and academic departments for HPCC planning prior to investing resources. "The standards-based Dell cluster provides us with the power and performance of a traditional supercomputer at a lower cost," said Betty Leydon, vice president of information technology at Princeton. "This system will serve faculty and students who need to run computationally intensive programs, offering high-performance computing cycles that might not otherwise be affordable." Dell HPCC consist of multiple standards-based systems linked together to act as a single, high-powered compute engine typically at a lower cost than supercomputers based on proprietary technology. Clusters of this kind have the potential to help scientists simulate anything from the early history of the universe to complex chemical reactions to demographic trends. "This deployment represents a larger trend in standards-based server clusters being used for advanced research," said John Mullen, vice president of sales, Dell Higher Education. "Dell is proud to provide Princeton with low-cost technology, increasing their capacity to conduct important and extensive research."