Features:

SUN HPC GROUP RESTRUCTURES
by Tim Curns, Editor

Sun has seen a variety of developments in recent weeks, including changes in management and the restructuring of products and services. We hope to shed more light on these reformations...

HPCwire: We'll begin with Sun's recent renaming of its Grid Engine under the N1 label. What would be the advantages of an N1 Grid Datacenter be to our HPC readers?

Steve Campbell: N1 offers customers looking to deploy Grid technologies the power to leverage virtualization and automation technologies and decrease repetitive provisioning tasks. We are bringing together two parts of the company, N1 and Grid, with a single naming convention to provide tools for our customers to leverage Sun hardware and software as appropriate.

Rapid hardware and software provisioning enables administrators to effectively manage large numbers of network services across the growing complexity found in heterogeneous IT infrastructures.

HPCwire: How big is Sun's HPC business and how does Sun plan to grow that business in the new organization?

SC: We do not break out businesses revenues in this way. We will grow the business through the sale and introduction of innovative technologies based on SPARC and Opteron that will provide customers the price/performance leadership.

HPCwire: What are the key products today for Sun's HPC business?

SC: Sun has products to support both scaling up and scaling out environments in HPTC with the Sun Fire line of servers using the multi-threaded technology of UltraSPARC IV-based systems to AMD-Opteron based systems. Massively parallel machines still absolutely have a place in HPTC and we have a large customer base relying in Sun for solutions that support that high-end niche market.

We're also supporting customers running clustered environments of x86 and Opteron-based systems that also utilize the latest interconnect technologies like InfiniBand to achieve their large scale computing tasks. In these environments, large scale computing projects are more complex and Sun and its large base of HPTC partners work together to help customers utilize joint technologies to maximize efficiency, throughput and decrease complexity.

HPCwire: Will Sun continue to develop new products for the HPC market going forward?

SC: Yes, the HPTC market continues to be a key focus area for Sun in both the enterprise and academic arenas that have been traditional growth areas for HPTC projects. The demands on network infrastructures continue and Sun is helping customers solve these needs with various HPTC solutions - from high performance servers, workstations to Grid Computing software, ready-to-deploy HPTC solutions and a partner program that enlists leading HPTC companies to create alliances with Sun to collaborate and produce HPTC solutions for our customers.

HPCwire: Is Sun also going forward with its Opteron-based servers? How are things going there?

SC: Sun is getting ready to expand it family of Opteron-based servers. We are already shipping the Sun Fire v20z servers and introduced the 4-way Opteron- based server, V40z, that will be a true leader in price/performance. The Sun Fire V40z server is a new-generation, four-processor server with world-class performance and features that enable customers to solve their IT needs more efficiently and at lower costs. Based on the AMD Opteron processor with HyperTransport technology, the Sun Fire V40z server provides linear processor scalability and high-speed I/O throughput for x86 applications. The Sun Fire V40z server is also highly flexible and can run 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems and applications, protecting customer investments in existing IT infrastructures while enabling them to easily migrate to next-generation 64- bit computing.

In addition, Sun has introduced one-way and two-way Opteron-based workstations. The single-processor Sun Java Workstation W1100z, first in a new line of AMD Opteron processor-based workstations, delivers fast performance, workstation-class graphics solutions, high I/O throughput, and the ability to deploy large data sets (up to 8 GB in size) across multiple operating systems, including the Solaris OS and Linux. The Sun Java Workstation W1100z is ideal for software development and any 3D-intensive applications.

The dual-processor Sun Java Workstation W2100z, supports simultaneous 32-bit and 64-bit computing with no compromises in performance, allowing users to maintain their existing x86 infrastructure while still enabling a smooth migration to next-generation 64-bit operating systems and applications when required. The Sun Java Workstation W2100z is ideal for performance-intensive technical applications and grid computing.

HPCwire: What does the recently announced Fujitsu deal mean to Sun in terms of being able to offer competitive price/performance?

SC: The relationship between Sun and Fujitsu will make the SPARC/Solaris platform more competitive through a more comprehensive product portfolio that addresses all network loads. The deal also eliminates redundant engineering efforts, frees up resources for strategic innovation, and diversifies risk for development portfolio.

HPCwire: A recent management change was with Clark Masters, who was directing HPC initiatives at Sun. Can you tell us more about Clark's new role at Sun Fed?

SC: Clark Masters, Executive Vice President, Global Government, and President of Sun Federal, has been positioned to increase Sun's engagement in world-wide government business including tactical and strategic sales, the growth of Sun's HPCS DARPA project, and overseeing government funded research and development.

HPCwire: Another major management change at Sun was Shahin Khan's resignation. What role did Shahin's group serve at Sun?

SC: Shahin's group was a cross-SMI effort to get different teams at Sun vital to helping customer purchase and deploy effective Grid architectures. This group opened doors for teams to work together to provide the best options for customers and to leverage the tremendous resources across Sun. Those teams will continue to interact as Sun builds out its offerings for the HPTC and Grid communities.

HPCwire: How will these changes affect Sun's DARPA HPCS project?

SC: Sun's High Performance Computing Systems (HPCS) in The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) will continue to develop radical new technologies for a new generation of economically viable and holistically designed systems with breakaway levels of performance, programmability, reliability and portability.

HPCwire: Do these changes mean that Sun is no longer serious about HPTC?

SC: Absolutely not. Sun will remain committed to the High Performance and Technical Computing market and Grid computing initiatives because of the importance of these industry segments and future opportunity in Grid computing. We have a long history of leadership in this industry and will continue delivering quality products to the HPTC AND Grid computing market.

HPCwire: Good to hear. Thank you for explaining the details surrounding Sun's changes. Your customers, as well as our HPCwire readers, will surely appreciate your answers.