Cluster Computing:

HP UNVEILS WORLD'S FASTEST LINUX SUPERCOMPUTER
by Marty O'Laughlin

The world's largest Linux supercomputer - built on HP Integrity servers - is now fully operational at the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Labs (PNNL ). The 11.8 teraflop PNNL system is considered the nation's fastest non-military supercomputer and will enable scientists to both solve complex scientific problems faster and conduct more advanced scientific research. This system is the latest from HP, the leader in clustering and high-performance computing solutions.

The PNNL supercomputer is based on HP Integrity rx2600 servers running nearly 2,000 next-generation Intel Itanium-2 "Madison" 64-bit processors. The upgrade was implemented by HP and PNNL engineers at the Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory in Richland, Wash., boosting the system's peak performance from 6.2 trillion floating point operations per second (teraflops) to 11.8 teraflops, with the processors running at 1.5 GHz.

HP designed the high-performance PNNL system to accommodate complex technical computing needs in environmental and molecular sciences and is providing a full range of support for the deployment, management and enhancement of the system through HP Services.

"We chose the HP system because its architecture was best tailored to the needs of the complex computational chemistry done at PNNL," said Scott Studham, manager of computer operations within the Molecular Science Computing Facility. "The additional power and speed will allow new research in atmospheric chemistry, systems biology, catalysis and materials science."

The HP supercomputer will be connected to the Department of Energy's Science Grid. Institutions nationally and worldwide are using this grid to conduct large simulations, analyze data and coordinate experiments in disciplines such as chemistry, high energy physics, fusion, climate and life sciences that require high-end computing resources, databases or equipment at widely distributed locations. The shared power of this resource allows PNNL research to be conducted more collaboratively and more efficiently between its four partner labs on the Grid and other scientists who are working on important scientific research projects.

With the deployment of the new PNNL system, HP meets the criteria to claims two of the top five spots on the Top500 organization's ranking of the world's most powerful computing systems (www.top500.org). The HP-based supercomputer at Los Alamos National Laboratory is number two (2) on the most recent ranking.

HP is maintaining its lead position in 2003 with a 31.5% share of HPC revenue based on IDC's latest quarterly market survey for the first quarter of this year.

"In developing the world's fastest Linux supercomputer, HP's service professionals and engineers worked with PNNL to solve challenging technical computing problems and create an agile and scalable Itanium system that presented better return on IT (RoIT)," said Winston Prather, vice president of High Performance Technical Computing, HP Enterprise Storage and Servers. "HP is leading innovation around Linux solutions that help customers better compete in today's ever-changing business and technical climate."

Scientists will use the HP Integrity-based supercomputer to study complex chemical problems in areas such as life sciences, subsurface transport, material design, atmospheric chemistry and combustion. In addition, they will apply the supercomputer to study geochemistry and biochemistry; radioactive and chemical waste detection, storage and management; systems biology; genomics; proteomics; materials science; fundamental studies in chemistry and computer science and catalysis.

HP offers the most comprehensive offering of Linux hardware, software and professional services. Linux is fast gaining popularity with HP's enterprise and technical customers, accelerating the adoption of the Adaptive Enterprise and providing a platform for agile business processes that provide better overall return on IT.

For more information on HP's Linux and Itanium solutions, check out http://www.hp.com/linux.