| Supercomputing 2006 Show Coverage Continued |
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Supercomputing 2006 Show Continued Coverage
Seems that most of the big computer companies have decided that we live in an age of supercomputing. As with most other technologies the strive is to go smaller, faster, and more effecient. Thus each of the major vendors has on display their super high end computer capable of breaking computing barriers that were previously though of as decades away. The major question being asked at the conference by several vandors has been:
"What would you do with a Teraflop of computing power?"
With some of these machines offering anywhere from 1/4 to 8 teraflops of computing power, the idea of computing and capabilities must make a fundamental shift. If you were to look on from the sideslines you will that more and more software is being made available online, that the internet is becoming more closely tied into all manner of electronics, and that the broadband speed and access is increasing at a very high rate. All of this might lead to the possibility that in a few years the stand alone home PC will become an extinct species with home terminals taking their place. Your information, games, e-mail, etc will all be centralized on one of these powerhouses that may be located hundreds of miles away. I'm sure the software companies would love that. Now back to answer our previous question. What would you do with 1 Teraflop of computing power?
Well thats an interesting question now isisn't it. I suppose you could host BF2142 for the entire world if your internet connection was big enough. You could fit an entire DNA strand into memory instead of using the swap file. A small to medium or even large company could use a single server to meet all of their needs. A rendering farm consisting of many machines is reduced to a single supercomputer with any one of hundreds of the supercomputers on the SC06 show floor.
I guess the real answer is what do you need to accomplish as the likely hood is that these machines are capable of doing whatever it is that you need.
The Tyan Typhoon PSC:
Tyan announced its new addition to its Typhoon Cluster server line. The Typhoon 600 series. The PSC stands for Personal Super Computer, thus re-enforcing the concept of supercomputing for everyone. Though with a pricetag starting at $15,000 you might want to consider if your home needs one of these more than your business does. Some basic specs:
Typhoon 600 Series Features:
- 256 gigaflops peak performance
- 1400 Watts max, plugs into standard wall outlet
- Small form factor, portable
- Low-noise, whisper quiet operation. less than 52dB.
- Platform Computing Open Cluster Stack
- Personal Supercomputer using Microsoft Windows Computer Cluster Server 2003
- Up to 40 CPU cores per system
Tyan granted Techwarelabs an interview with David the Senior Director of Sales and Marketing to speak about the new Typhoon and we will be bringing you that video very soon. What we can tell you here is that the Typhoon promises to deliver supercomputing at a very affordable price to businesses.
SiCortex
Looking more like a Delorean or Lamborghini with the upswung doors, SiCortex has taken a very unique approach to supercomputing. The design and implementation of the SC5832 makes their product look like art and perform like a race horse. It offers 5832 1GFlops 64-bit processors, each dissipating just 600 milliwatts of power. The SC5832 can pack as much as 8 Terabytes of system memory! The system takes cold air in from the bottom through an array of fans and passes it out the top at a little more than with a capability of moving more than 4000CFM. The model on the floor was not operating at the time but we can only imagine the noise that moving 4000CFM would produce. The SC5832 does have a little brother the SC648 which is rated at 648 Gflops.
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