Module Allows Dell Customers to Reduce Costs and Complexity of High Performance Cluster Computing  

Further expanding the broadest portfolio of Quad Data Rate (QDR) InfiniBand solutions in the industry, QLogic today introduced the industry’s first quad data rate (QDR) InfiniBand pass-through module. The new QLogic 12005-PT16 QDR pass-through module is now available for Dell PowerEdge blade servers in supercomputing environments, and is designed to fit seamlessly into the Dell PowerEdge M1000e chassis. The 12005-PT16 provides a dedicated 40Gb/sec QDR InifiniBand interface for Dell blade servers by extending connectivity from the server’s InfiniBand mezzanine card to any external, industry-standard InfiniBand switch, including QLogic 12000 Series QDR switches and directors.  

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Delivering QDR line rate performance with low latency and flexible fabric architecture options, the QLogic 12005-PT16 QDR InfiniBand pass-through module is a cost-effective alternative to internal blade server switches for typical clusters. The new module eliminates the latency associated with internal switch “hops” by connecting blade servers directly to the external QDR InfiniBand core switch typically found in a large cluster. In addition, by taking up only a single I/O fabric module space in the Dell PowerEdge M1000e blade server, the 12005-PT16 frees other PowerEdge I/O modules for expanded configuration options.  

In addition to the pass-through module, Dell recently added QLogic’s 7300 Series QDR InfiniBand mezzanine adapter to its selection of QLogic end-to-end QDR InfiniBand adapter and switch solutions. The portfolio also includes QLogic 7300 Series single and dual port adapters and 12000 Series 36-port edge switches and 96-port, 324-port and 648-port directors.   

“Dell’s PowerEdge servers deliver industry-leading performance and energy efficiency for HPC cluster applications,” said Sally Stevens, vice president of Platform Marketing, Dell. “QLogic’s innovative, 40Gb/second QDR InfiniBand pass-through module and mezzanine adapter augment our M1000e platform with the exceptional value and open-standard technology that customers expect from Dell. By combining Dell multi-core servers and QLogic QDR InfiniBand adapters, switches and pass-through modules, we’re enabling our HPC customers to accelerate the pace of their research efforts.”  

The 12005-PT16 greatly improves operational efficiencies by lowering power consumption by up to 45 percent and reducing cooling and maintenance costs, giving supercomputer users the flexibility to implement a network architecture that meets their performance and cost objectives.  

“Blade servers like Dell’s PowerEdge M1000e platform are becoming increasingly popular in HPC environments because they enable clusters to scale in a minimal data center footprint. The low-profile QLogic 12005 QDR InfiniBand pass-through module provides a highly cost-effective solution for these servers by further saving space and power,” said Jesse Parker, vice president and general manager, Network Solutions Group, QLogic. “By making InfiniBand easier to deploy and use, QLogic and Dell are empowering HPC users with the ability to produce quicker results for applications such as aerospace, earthquake modeling and biomolecular design.” 

InfiniBand Networks Powered by QLogic

QLogic offers a comprehensive, end-to-end portfolio of InfiniBand networking products for supercomputing, including QDR host channel adapters, QDR multi-protocol director and edge switches and intuitive tools to install, operate, and maintain high-performance fabrics. Delivering the industry’s highest message rate, lowest MPI latency and highest effective bandwidth, QLogic InfiniBand adapters enable MPI and TCP applications to scale to thousands of nodes with industry-leading price-performance. As the most comprehensive and flexible supercomputing cluster interconnect fabric solutions on the market, QLogic QDR InfiniBand switches incorporate the industry’s only management tools that enable an administrator to install and boot an InfiniBand fabric in minutes, helping to accommodate the growing demand for high performance computational clusters and grids.