SCIENCE

Dell announced that the high-performance computing (HPC) program for CERN's ATLAS experiment is expanding to all Large Hadron Collider (LHC) research experiments.

The expanded LHC program will be powered by Dell PowerEdge HPC technologies and give scientists and researchers access to the tools and technologies needed to conduct their research. This expansion will provide computing resources to more than 400 universities and laboratories across the worldwide LHC community.

The availability of Dell resources across all of the CERN research projects provides the LHC community with the computational horsepower, data analysis capabilities and affordable tools needed to maximum program and research performance. Specifically, the additional experiments include:

• Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS): detector assists researchers in unveiling some of the Universe's deepest mysteries, recording key information about particles emerging from high-energy collisions in the LHC.
  
• A Large Ion Collider Experiment (ALICE): a heavy-ion detector used to analyze/study the physics of strongly interacting matter at extreme LHC energy densities.
  
• Large Hadron Collider Beauty (LHCb): specialized detectors used to analyze collisions within the LHC in relation to antimatter.

The Dell HPC industry consortium developed for CERN includes Intel Corporation, Data Direct Networks, QLogic Corporation, Force10 Networks and Platform Computing. Together, the companies are dedicated to developing and managing an open IT architecture, including energy and cost-efficient Dell PowerEdge servers, for researchers at LHC-affiliated universities and laboratories worldwide.

Dr. Andrew Lankford, professor of Physics, University of California, Irvine, and deputy spokesperson, ATLAS Experiment, CERN, said, "Dell and their HPC network infrastructure partners provide leading edge, dense and scalable performance solutions that ensure accelerated scientific computing/data analysis for interdisciplinary collaborative scientists worldwide. The LHC Community should find the access to first time, every time and all the time highly efficient and productive computing network infrastructure solutions as a key ingredient in expanding its scientific discovery processes."

Dr. Klaus Merle, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, said, "We are excited that Dell has expanded these resources across all LHC experiments. This will allow all our LHC affiliated scientists to benefit from Dell's affordable product offering which is especially suited to the needs of the LHC experiments. It will significantly accelerate the analysis of their huge amounts of experimental data."

Frank Muehleman, vice president and general manager, North America Public Business Group, said, "Dell has a legacy of collaboration with CERN and its experiments. Sharing resources and HPC technologies across all the LHC experiments is testimony to the increased computing/storage needs of researcher organizations of all sizes. Extended access will help researchers around the world make tremendous new discoveries."