Cluster Hardware
Choosing cluster hardware can be difficult without some real application data and experience. Our hardware reviews will try and offer some insights into today's hardware choices.
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- Written by Douglas Eadline
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Last fall, I had an opportunity to test the new quad-core Intel® Xeon® 5400 processor (Harpertown) processor. As the Harpertown was in short supply, I only had two nodes (two sockets on each node for total of 16 cores) with which to run my tests. I'm not picky, however, I like to run HPC tests as this type of data is absent in the mainstream press. In particular, I am most interested in how multi-core and MPI play in the HPC space. There is plenty to discuss, but for some interesting benchmark numbers, read on.
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- Written by Jeff Layton
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Desktop Supercomputer from SiCortex
There are many people who dream of desktop supercomputes (I know I'm one of them). I had high hopes for Orion Multisystems, but they suffered from some problems. I then had high hopes for Tyan with PSC, but they seems to have faltered. Now it seems that SiCortex is making a run at the desktop supercomputer market.
Read on to learn more about the new system from SiCortex and some observations and opinions I have on it.
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- Written by Douglas Eadline
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Of Pentium D, Ethernet, and those assumption we all make
Recently, I did some benchmarking using Intel Pentium D® processors and gigabit Ethernet. The data are pretty impressive. If I were a non-technical person, I would probably say, Pentium D kicks ass, but you know, I like numbers and have a professional reputation to uphold. Therefore, in a professional sense I can say, Pentium D really kicks ass. To prove my point, this article presents some of the highlights from a recent white paper I prepared for Appro International called Achieving High Performance at Low Cost: The Dual Core Commodity Cluster Advantage. For a more complete description of the tests and results (including benchmark numbers) you probably want to download the white paper.