INDUSTRY

InfiniCon Systems, the premier provider of clustering and I/O virtualization solutions for next-generation server networks, today announced new members of the InfinIO 9000 Series – the most scalable, integrated switching platform for enabling large computing clusters and enterprise data center grids. The 9000 Series consists of models offering up to 144 and 288 10Gb ports in compact 7U and 14U chassis. It combines the industry’s fastest standard networking architecture – InfiniBand – with both Fibre Channel and Ethernet, to make scale-out processing for large clustering applications more powerful and affordable, and to bring the resource sharing and complexity reduction benefits made possible through I/O virtualization to data center planning and management. The 9000 Series offers the following advances and key differentiators over competitive solutions: • Design Simplicity and Investment Protection Through Common Components – Users can deploy scalable systems of either 144-port (9100 Model) or 288-port capacities (9200 Model). The bladed systems architecture utilizes common components across chassis sizes, enabling sensible migration strategies as clusters scale. No other InfiniBand system provides this level of investment protection. • Cost-Effective Integration into Enterprise Data Centers – To equip servers with shared access to resources such as Fibre Channel SANs, NAS appliances, and client networks, 9000 Systems can be configured with virtual I/O blades, which also contain InfiniBand ports. Users can determine what level of virtual I/O capability is needed, without sacrificing port counts that impair InfiniBand fabric sizes. No other InfiniBand system offers this level of granularity. • Unmatched Power for High Performance Computing Applications – A fully configured 288-port InfinIO 9200 delivers an incredible 5.76 Tbits/s of bidirectional throughput, a performance metric capable of matching the most demanding computing applications. InfiniBand blades supporting 30Gb networking can be mixed and matched within the 9000 Series chassis, enabling ultra high performance uplinks required for configuring larger fabrics. “The industry is moving to clustered, fabric, and grid computing architectures which require at their very foundation large-scale switching systems,” stated Charles Foley, executive vice president of InfiniCon. “Our 9000 Series is the most powerful data center switching system available today to enable this strategic shift, and the first to combine ultra scalable, high-performance switching with uncompromised access to storage and LAN/WAN.” InfiniCon offers the industry’s most complete family of InfiniBand solutions that target mid-to-high end HPC applications through solutions like the InfinIO 9000, as well as smaller HPC configurations and clustered database applications through solutions like its new 12-port InfinIO 5000 Clustering and I/O Virtualization System. “We clearly see the move towards ‘scale out’ computing gaining momentum, and have capitalized on InfiniBand as a strategic technology in this evolution,” stated Vijay Agarwala, Director of High Performance Computing, Penn State University. “The new systems from InfiniCon are perfect examples of what are not only logical, but necessary, developments to enable this continued migration.” Full High Availability and Robust Management Environment Every aspect of the 9000 Series is designed to meet the rigors of mission-critical environments. High availability features include redundant power/cooling, hot pluggable components, redundant management, and full failover. It offers complete IBTA 1.1 management support, world-class subnet management tools such as the unique FastFabricä Toolset, and intelligent balanced routing – an industry exclusive feature for HPC environments that directs traffic across optimal paths rather than saturating interswitch links like competitive design approaches do, risking application bottlenecks. “Systems such as the InfinIO 9000 will be cornerstones in the broad industry move to fabric/grid/cluster computing,” stated Jamie Gruener, senior analyst with the Yankee Group. “The performance and scalability make commodity ‘scale out’ processing viable, and the integration of fibre channel and Ethernet allow seamless integration into the existing environment; both are key criteria for acceptance of new infrastructure building blocks such as this.” InfiniCon is a member of Sun Microsystems’ High Performance Technical Computing Alliance, and also partners with AMD, Fujitsu, Intel, Oracle, and other leading IT companies. The InfinIO 9000 Series will be available in Q3 2004 through InfiniCon’s OEM channels and members of its Advanced Solutions Alliance Partners (ASAP) program throughout the world. Leveraging the breakthrough advances of the InfiniBand architecture, InfiniCon Systems offers a complete systems solution for enabling data centers to migrate to a fabric/grid model of computing. Our award-winning InfinIO product family provides the dynamic infrastructure required for designing and managing highly scalable, highly available clustered server environments that integrate seamlessly into today’s Fibre Channel and Ethernet networks. For additional information, visit www.infinicon.com, or contact us at info@infinicon.com.