Force10 Networks today announced that its Ethernet switch/router solutions play a significant role in six of the world’s top 10 most powerful supercomputers according to the most recent Top500.org list. Los Alamos National Laboratory, home of Roadrunner, which is ranked number one on the list, utilizes the Force10 TeraScale E-Series switch/router to serve as the supercomputer’s high-speed Ethernet interconnect network.

“Supercomputing environments, whether located in the U.S. or Europe or China, are globally unified by their need to maintain tremendous performance, and reliability,” says James Hanley, president of field operations, Force10 Networks. “Force10 is proud to have provided the world’s premier supercomputer environments with these characteristics, as well as the ability to scale yet simplify as they grow larger and more complex.”

In addition to powering the fastest supercomputer in North America, the Force10 Ethernet switch/router solutions provide critical Ethernet interconnect functionality to the fastest supercomputers in Europe and Asia. Forschungszentrum Juelich, with its Jugene supercomputer located in Germany, ranks 3rd on the list and has deployed the Force10 TeraScale E1200 with more than 200 Ten Gigabit Ethernet ports. Asia’s highest-performing supercomputer, Magic Cube (previously known as the Dawning 5000A), at the Shanghai Supercomputer Center utilizes Force10 C300 resilient switches and S2410 access switches. Force10 also powers 10 of top 20 and 14 of top 50 fastest supercomputers worldwide.

National laboratories and other research environments worldwide are requiring more computational power yet greater simplicity as their supercomputers and their supporting networks continue to get larger and operate faster. From the TeraScale E-Series switch/router and the C-Series resilient switch in the core to the S-Series access switch on the edge, Force10 Ethernet switch/routers provide the non-blocking performance, reliability and scalability that are needed to optimize supercomputer performance and broaden and enhance state-of-the-art research and analysis.

The Top500 project was started in 1993 to provide a reliable basis for tracking and detecting trends in high performance computing. Supercomputers are ranked twice a year based on performance.