INDUSTRY

Silicon Graphics, Inc. and TRIONIQ inc, announced that SGI’s flagship server and visualization systems implement the MakinaBOX mechanism developed by TRIONIQ for improving the ease of maintenance of the I/O modules in its SGI Altix and SGI Origin high-performance computing systems. These flagship systems are based on SGI NUMAflex scalable shared-memory system architecture. NUMAflex is a modular approach to computing that enables users to readily respond to ever changing and demanding requirements for greater performance, memory and I/O, or data access and exchange. The ability to add and/or reconfigure components independently—for example increasing I/O without increasing processors—results in tremendous system as well as price/performance advantages. To attain its industry-leading performance advantages SGI favors the use of PCI I/O interfaces standard in the industry—an economical solution which adequately meets the technical requirements of the system. Maintenance of these interface cards however, requires inserting and extracting these boards while the system is running. The MakinaBOX mechanism designed by TRIONIQ represents a natural solution to this challenge. “We were looking for a solution to the problem of I/O interface maintenance that offered the best price/performance ratio available on the market. The solution had to comply with our philosophy on modularity. We found our answer in the MakinaBOX carrier from TRIONIQ.” states Jeff Greenwald, Senior Director of Product Management and Marketing at SGI. “The MakinaBOX carrier integrates itself naturally into our design strategy which is characterized by exceptional modularity, evolving configuration, great ruggedness, high performance and good price/performance ratio.” MakinaBOX is a patented mechanism that enables the insertion and extraction of standard electronic cards—PCI, PCI-X, PCI Express, ISA, etc—without having to open the computer casing. Offered exclusively by TRIONIQ inc., the MakinaBOX is designed to facilitate insertion and extraction of boards so no special technical assistance is required.“We designed the MakinaBOX mechanism to answer new market requirements that pertain particularly to the ease of maintenance and the service continuity of computing systems. The challenge was to find an economical and effective solution capable of working with existing or evolving technologies. Our objective was to provide system developers with a viable solution that would enable them to continue using industry standards, which are acknowledged to be more economical, without compromising on ease of maintenance or a corporation's growing need for continual computing system service. This inspired us to devise a carrier design that complements existing interfaces,” states Mireille Jean, Vice President Business Development at TRIONIQ Inc. TRIONIQ’s MakinaBOX carrier is used in system monitoring solutions for telecommunication networks as well as in the HPC market. Working with TRIONIQ, once again SGI strengthens its leadership in the market of modular systems while TRIONIQ brings to system designers an affordable PCI casing alternative integrating ease of maintenance and system continuity capabilities.