Powell Cluster Fastest Linux-Based System in the DoD HPCMP

SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Linux Networx announced today that the Army Research Laboratory, a Department of Defense (DoD) High Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCMP) Major Shared Resource Center (MSRC), has accepted the newest and most powerful HPCMP Linux cluster into their production environment. The 256-processor system designed for ARL, dubbed "Powell," is capable of performing 1.7 trillion operations per second (teraflops). The Powell cluster, recently ranked 113th on the Top 500 list (http://www.top500.org), exceeded rigorous effectiveness and capability testing requirements prior to delivering critical computations and simulations to MSRC users.

The cluster is part of the Technology Insertion 2003 program, an initiative to modernize the Department of Defense high performance computing (HPC) capabilities. The HPCMP provides the supercomputer services, high-speed network communications, and computational science expertise that enables the U.S. Defense laboratories, such as ARL, to conduct a wide range of focused research, development, and test activities. The Powell cluster is a part of this partnership to put advanced technology in the hands of U.S. armed forces more quickly, less expensively, and with greater certainty of success. The Powell cluster will run production applications currently operating on HPC systems scheduled for retirement.

"The Powell cluster has proven capable of delivering exceptional performance on applications that are important to the DoD such as GAMESS and CTH, while at the same time being easily integrated into a production HPC environment," said Thomas Kendall, lead systems engineer at the ARL MSRC. "The management tools provided with the system truly make the Powell cluster greater than the sum of its parts."

Linux clustering is a method of linking multiple computers together to form a unified and more powerful system. The Powell cluster uses 256 Intel(R) Xeon(TM) 3.06 GHz processors and is managed with the Clusterworx(R) and ICE Box(TM) tools from Linux Networx.

"This is the first Linux cluster at the ARL that is running production jobs on a broad base of applications to many users within the DoD community," said Dean Hutchings, COO of Linux Networx. "The true test of a supercomputer's value is the amount of work that is performed on the machine, and we are pleased that another Linux Networx cluster is in full production, and is providing important research results to the DoD."