http://www.linuxbios.org/news/index.html#k8cluster' ">http://www.linuxbios.org/news/index.html#k8cluster

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Two new LinuxBIOS-based clusters at LANL

LANL is installing two new LinuxBIOS-based K8 clusters, Blue Steel (a.k.a. Orange) and Lighting. Both also use the Bproc 3.0 software, available at the clustermatic site. Blue Steel has a 288-port Infiniband interconnect from Mellanox Networks. Lightning has a 2048-port Myrinet interconnect. Blue Steel will run in 64-bit mode; Lightning will run in 32-bit mode. Both systems are from Linux NetWorx and use the Evolocity packaging. Note that both systems have more ports than nodes so that other systems can be cabled into the network backplane as needed.
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This was reported on Slashdot a while ago, but today the cluster is finally being installed (Just got done eating lunch with the Linux Networx team, in fact). Why the larger cluster, Lightning, will only run in 32-bit mode I don't know. Lightning is the production cluster, Blue Steel is the R&D cluster.

I'd also like to add that Linux Networx is a great bunch of people

Beastly clusters, man. What's Blue Steel going to be researching?

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Intel Core i7 860
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I believe Lightning is to be used for modeling and simulations. Of what exactly, I'm unsure.

Blue Steel is a testbed and R&D cluster. It will be used to do things like benchmark our interconnects, test new versions of LinuxBIOS, test Beowulf tools, etc. It could be used for simulations and a variety of other things as well.

I might as well mention that Sandia National Laboratory will soon have a 16,000 CPU Opteron supercomputer' ">http://theregister.com/content/archive/27718.html from Cray ("Red Storm"). Cray has their own interconnect that will be used for Red Storm rather than Infiniband and Myrinet which is what are used in Blue Steel and Lightning.

Yeah, I heard about Cray's Red Storm awhile ago. That machine is going to be capable of some serious power to be sure. With all these supercomputer wins AMD has received for their Opterons, it's no wonder that they've managed to outsell the Itanium

Here's an article the Inquirer posted on Red Storm today. It links to a massive 77 page PDF, detailing the specs of the machine. I'll probably peruse through it a little later today:

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=12387' ">http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=12387

-------------------------
Intel Core i7 860
ASUS P7P55D-E Pro
Corsair HX650W
Corsair XMS DDR3-1333 (4GB @ 8-8-8-24)
Sapphire Radeon HD 6870
Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB