INDUSTRY

INTEL DEVELOPER FORUM, SAN JOSE, Calif. - At the Fall 2002 Intel Developers' Forum, SGI announced a breakthrough in advancing high-performance, scalable systems based on the Intel(R) Itanium(R) 2 processor and the Linux(R) operating system for high-end technical application users. SGI has attained linear scalability on a 64-processor Itanium 2-based system and world-record results among microprocessor-based systems on the STREAM Triad benchmark, which tests memory bandwidth performance. Demonstrating linear scalability from 2 to 64 processors, the Itanium 2-based prototype system from SGI exceeded 120GB per second on a single system image. This result, derived from initial internal testing, marks a significant milestone for the industry: Early Itanium 2-based SGI(R) systems built on the innovative SGI(R) NUMAflex(TM) shared-memory architecture, have proven that Linux can scale well beyond the perceived limitation of eight processors in a single system image. Additionally, results show that the upcoming Itanium 2-based SGI system has not only outperformed the IBM(R) eServer p690 and Sun Microsystems Sun Fire(TM) 15K high-end microprocessor-based systems, it has also surpassed memory bandwidth performance on the CRAY C90(TM), the CRAY SV1(TM) and the Fujitsu VPP5000 CMOS vector-based supercomputers. SGI recently announced its expanded business strategy in which it will incorporate systems based on the Itanium processor family running Linux into its established line of high-performance computing systems. By utilizing Intel components within its NUMAflex modular architecture, SGI positions itself as the lead source for scalable Linux systems. Early next year, SGI will release its fully optimized Itanium 2-based systems and its final STREAM benchmark results. The new Itanium 2-based SGI systems will enable maximum performance and scalability for a breadth of technical applications and will be fully compatible with two future Itanium processor family products (code-named "Madison" and "Montecito") to offer an unmatched investment protection. "With its rich legacy in technical computing, SGI is well positioned to speed the adoption of the Itanium 2 processor in scalable high-performance environments," said Mike Fister, senior vice president and general manager, Enterprise Platforms Group, Intel. "We are delighted to see an Itanium 2-based system achieve such high efficiency in scaling Linux to this level, clearly demonstrating the benefits of combining the Itanium 2 processor's outstanding performance and scalability with SGI's NUMAflex architecture." "This accomplishment will turn the heads of those who considered clustering a multitude of PCs as an optimal solution for integrating Linux into technical computing labs," said Jon "maddog" Hall, president and executive director, Linux International. "For those applications that need to scale, SGI has just proven that Linux need not be synonymous with clutter." "This accomplishment demonstrates SGI's unique ability to innovate at the edge of the performance frontier," said Paul McNamara, vice president, Products and Platforms, SGI. "Our NUMAflex architecture enables us to create the world's most scalable shared-memory supercomputers, while delivering the rich application environment that is developing around the Intel Itanium line of processors and the Linux operating system."