Forschungszentrum Jülich enters the future of high-performance cluster computing in close cooperation with companies from EU and USA. With the JuRoPA system (JuRoPA stands for "Juelich Research on Petaflop Architectures"), a new cost-efficient performance class of supercomputers shall be realized and possible paths towards peta-scale
general purpose computers is going to be explored. A balanced combination of the hardware and software components optimizes the communication between the high-performance processing units. At the International SuperComputing Conference (ISC07) in Dresden, Germany, the JuRoPA-Partners (Quadrics, ParTec and Forschungszentrum Jülich) have announced the projekt at an afternoon reception on Wednesday, June 27.
Cluster computers are built modularly using standard PC technology and very fast networks. Being ideal instruments for a wide range of simulation problems they stand for a large proportion of the most powerful computers in the world. The decisive factor for such a collection of parallel working computers is the extremely fast transmission of signals across the network, the "backbone" of the computer.
The aim of the JuRoPA project is the development of general purpose clusters based on INTEL processor technology, QUADRICS interconnect,PARTEC Cluster Software and IBM System x technology. The processing power of the JuRoPA system is constituted by Intel Xeon 5160 processors. "Intel Dual-core processors were chosen in order to create an ideal balance between compute-power, memory bandwidth and energy consumption", says Thomas Lippert, director of the Jülich Institute for Supercomputing.
The prototype system comprises IBM x3550 compute nodes connected by Quadrics network technology. In a first phase QsTenG -- Quadrics'solution based on 10-Gigabit Ethernet --and QsNet-II networks are used. Each compute-node is equipped with an Elan-adapter and NetEffect 10G-Ethernet NIC during this phase. In a second stage of the project the cluster will be upgraded to QsNet-III, the next generation Quadrics interconnect. QsNet-III provides new levels of HPC performance, for which Quadrics is renown, in a standards compliant and cost effective manner. The first QsNet-III networks will provide both low latency and scalable bandwidth for 256 to 16384 nodes.
"Our partnership with Julich, Intel, IBM and ParTec marks a
significant step in the development of commodity supercomputer systems" says Giovanni Trezza, Chairman of Quadrics, "we expect this alliance to deliver key components for general purpose peta-scale systems in Europe".
In order to coordinate the interoperation of the
computing-capabilities of the compute-nodes and the
communication-potential of the interconnect the cluster operating system ParaStation is employed. ParaStation is a joint development of the Munich-based company ParTec and Forschungszentrum Jülich.
All integration of various components will take place in Jülich. A crucial aspect for Forschungszentrum Jülich is a deep integration of Intel's Cluster tools in order to bring the system to production level quality. Such an environment is the basic prerequisite in order to be able to conduct a detailed analysis of the system with real
applications from the scientific users.
JuRoPA is part of Jülich's ongoing strategy to explore emerging technologies that shall pave the way towards a European Peta-scale supercomputer complex.
For further information on Quadrics interconnect and the other products mailto: sales@quadrics.com
About FZ Jülich
"The Future is Our Mission..."
... this is the common denominator to which Research Centre Jülich, one of the 15 Helmholtz Research Centres in the Federal Republic of Germany, reduces its work. 4,300 members of staff dedicate themselves to exploring topics that are of current social relevance in one of the largest research institutions in Europe.
In Jülich, scientists from the disciplines of physics, chemistry, biology, medicine and the engineering sciences base their close cooperations on the key competencies of physics and scientific computing. They devote themselves to social challenges in the fields of health, information, the environment and energy. The work comprises both long-term contributions in basic research for science and technology, as well as concrete technological applications for industry.
At Research Centre Jülich, ZAM (Central Institute For Applied Mathematics) is responsible for the planning, installation and operation of the supercomputers and the central server systems as well as the campus-wide computer networks and data communications systems. Activities comprise all the services of a computing centre including consultancy services. Research and development work is performed at ZAM in the fields of mathematics, data processing and informatics. As part of the John von Neumann Institute for Computing (NIC), ZAM makes supercomputing resources available to the German science community. More information can be found at www.fz-juelich.de/supercomputer
Contact:
Norbert Eicker
Forschungszentrum Jülich
Tel. ++49-(0)2461/61-1492
Mail. n.eicker@fz-juelich.de
About ParTec
ParTec develops and offers the software ParaStation, a comprehensive cluster operating and management system for HPC clusters, and provides consultancy and support as well. ParaStation is state-of-the-art open source software for operating, managing and monitoring cluster systems including a variety of high speed interconnects.. In a single software package, one get all the necessary functionality to make a cluster efficiently work. Also ParaStation utilizes a sophisticated process management system to start, monitor and close the processes to achieve a reliable and stable operation of clusters and farms as well as a mixed operation of both.
Experience of many years of ParTec in the development of innovative software solutions for cluster computing constitute an essential precondition for the know-how to enable "High Productivity Cluster Computing" which unburdens the customer from many daily time consuming problems of cluster administration: Managing Systems for High Performance Solutions. ParTec is located in Munich, Germany, with branch offices in Bremen, Jülich and Karlsruhe. More information can be found at www.cluster-competence-center.com
Contact:
Dieter Schuett
ParTec GmbH - Marketing and Sales
Fon +49 4252 93898 15
schuett@par-tec.com
Press contact for Quadrics :
Francesca Bontich
francesca.bontich@quadrics.com
Rome Office
Quadrics Ltd.
Via V. Veneto, 183
00187 Roma
Tel. 0039 06 4245 7901
Fax 0039 06 4201 6303
Trademarks:
Quadrics® is a registered trademark of Quadrics Ltd.
All other trademarks and company names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.
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