SCIENCE

By Chris O´Neal -- At SC2004, Appro launched the next generation blade solution called XtremeBlade. It offers an integrated Infiniband and Ethernet Gigabit switch for blade servers providing a more efficient way for customers to connect high-density blade clusters together. This marks a major milestone for Appro and raises the bar for supercomputing. To learn more, Supercomputing Online interviewed Maria McLaughlin, Director of Marketing for Appro International. SC Online: At SC2004, Appro is introducing a new blade solution called XtremeBlade. Please share the highlights with us. McLaughlin: The Appro XtremeBlade is the next generation blade solution offering Infiniband interfaces to all external data and storage networks. This solution provides added efficiency to large-scale deployments while adding a tremendous amount of processor flexibility and scalability. It is also designed for high-availability by offering hot-swappable blades, redundant power supplies and cooling fans as well as tight integration of key components such as network switches and centralized management. The Appro XtremeBlade solution is ideal for demanding applications that require Enterprise High-availability and High-performance. SC Online: Please tell our readers how Appro's XtremeBlade is the FIRST, or ONE OF THE FIRST of its kind. McLaughlin: The XtremeBlade is the first blade server to provide mixing node configurations from 2-way to 8-way in the same rack cabinet offering greater scalability and flexibility for high-performance and grid computing. In addition, Appro worked closely with Mellanox and Infinicon, leaders in the Infiniband-based silicon and system solutions to provide this outstanding integrated Infiniband solution to our customers. With XtremeBlade our customers can build high-bandwidth clusters today on an infrastructure that is flexible and easy to scale. SC Online: Please provide details about the technology behind XtremeBlade. McLaughlin: The XtremeBlade solution offers a powerful combination by leveraging performance advantages of AMD Opteron processors and the performance and high-bandwidth of Infiniband technologies. It offers an integrated Infiniband and Ethernet Gigabit switch for blade servers. It also provides hot-swappable blades, redundant switches, power supplies and cooling fans. In addition, it delivers a next generation of Appro BladeDome as remote server and system management. The Appro BladeDome II unleashes the power of the new XtremeBlade solution, giving our customers a comprehensive remote management from a single graphical console. Key features are: In-band-and out-of-band control, support IPMI 1.5, support KVM over IP, temperature monitoring server, power supplies and switches, event log and administrator notification via e-mail. SC Online: What does this mean for the ever-growing supercomputing community? McLaughlin: Our customers are demanding more of price/performance computing, reliability, flexibility and compatibility while demanding less of complexity and incompatibility. Appro XtremeBlade delivers that by offering multiple configurations, high memory, network bandwidth, and total lights-out management system to provide remote access & control. It also centralizes power and network connections reducing complexity, floor space, air conditioning and power requirements. In addition, reduces cable count simplifying deployment and maintenance. This product raises the bar in technology innovation for the supercomputing community. SC Online: Please tell our readers how AMD views the Appro XtremeBlade? McLaughlin: AMD is very happy with our new product since we fully take advantage of the power of the AMD Opteron processors. The integrated AMD HyperTransport technology allows for concurrent multiple processors in a single system, delivering the computing power that the customers need. Also, the integrated memory controller within the processors, cuts latency and feeds data to the processor quickly saving time and money. In addition, memory bandwidth scales with processors capability. You can also post to your readers, the following great quote that Ben Williams, vice president for enterprise and server/workstation business for AMD’s Microprocessor Business Unit said about our new XtremeBlade solution. Appro's XtremeBlade server is well suited for the demanding applications of the HPC and enterprise markets. The XtremeBlade is powerful, highly scalable and takes full advantage of the reduced memory latency and increased data throughput enabled by the AMD Opteron processor's Direct Connect Architecture. Supercomputing Online wishes to thank Maria McLaughlin for her time and insights.