Interesting to note that some of the reasons Virginia Tech has chosen
G5's is that a dual 2GHz G5 can process 14 gigaflops compared to a
2GHz Pentium 4 which can only muster 1.4 gigaflops. See this diagram
comparing the G5 to the fastest computers in the world:
http://www.collegiatetimes.com/newsadmin/photo/1062563741.jpg
they aim to become one of the 5 fastest supercomputers in the world.
Pretty good endorsement of Apple's new G5 systems.
-Mart
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http://www.collegiatetimes.com/index.php?ID=1748
Virginia Tech is teaming with Apple, Cisco, Liebert and Mellanox
Technologies to develop a supercomputer of national prominence
by Bryan Nieder
News Assistant
A $5.2 million supercomputer project including 1,100 computers is
tentatively scheduled to begin shipments of its components to
Virginia Tech this weekend.
The supercomputer cluster will be composed of Macintosh G5 computers,
weighing 35 pounds each, said Jason Lockhart, director of the College
of Engineering's High Performance Computing and Technology Innovation.
Moving 19.25 tons of machinery will require 15 to 20 volunteers
beginning Sunday to help unload and set up the project. Volunteers
will work in shifts and the process is expected to take about six
days total.
Initially, the Corporate Research Center will house the computer
cluster with plans for it to move to a building dedicated to the
Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science at Tech's
Computing Center.
Tech teamed with Apple Computer, Cisco, Liebert and Mellanox
Technologies in developing the project.
Liebert, a division of Emerson Network Power, contributed the cooling
system because the machinery would otherwise overheat under normal
air-conditioned circumstances.
Mellanox provided the primary communication fabrics, drivers, cards
and switches for the project, while Cisco's secondary communication
fabrics to interconnect the computers were employed.
"Virginia Tech's idea was to develop a supercomputer of national
prominence based upon a homegrown cluster," said Hassan Aref, dean of
the college of engineering and former chief scientist at the San
Diego Supercomputer Center.
He said G5 computers were chosen because of their high-speed memory
and 64-bit processors.
Although the computers are expected to arrive this weekend, it is
unknown when the supercomputer will be fully operational.
"Right now it is a sea of logistics, but I believe they hope they'll
have a better idea at the end of this month," said Lynn Nystrom,
director of news and external relations for the department of
engineering.
Nystrom said the amount of memory is still being determined and will
not fully be known until it is completely functional.
The supercomputer will help with Terascale computing, which involves
problems too large to be solved by an individual computer.
Nystrom said interdisciplinary research within the colleges of
engineering and science and the veterinary school will greatly
benefit from the supercomputer with projects such as nanoscale
electronics and biomedical studies benefiting.
"Virginia Tech will have one of the top-ranked supercomputing
facilities in the world, supporting significant big science
research," said Glenda Scales, assistant dean of computing and
distance learning, in a press release.
For the supercomputer to break the top five supercomputers in the
world, it would have to possess 10 teraflops of performance.
Nystrom said the hope from Tech researchers is the supercomputer will
bring more grant money for research like a supercomputer in Japan is
doing, which recently received over $100 million dollars.
"It is anticipated that Tech will realize at least a five to one
return on this investment in terms of annual research grant and
contract activity," Scales said.
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