IBM RS/6000 SP and Linux Clusters Getting Hitched in New Mexico
IBM and University of New Mexico Researchers to Build “Vista Azul” Hypercluster
ALBUQUERQUE, NM (December 13, 1999) – IBM and the University of New Mexico (UNM) today announced a joint research project to integrate leading-edge IBM RS/6000 SP supercomputing technology running AIX, IBM’s UNIX operating system, with the fast-developing world of Linux superclusters. A Linux supercluster is made up of off-the-shelf PCs or workstations interconnected with high-speed networking technologies, having large storage capabilities and running under the Linux operating system.
The system, called Vista Azul (Blue Vista in Spanish), will create a unique “hypercluster” environment composed of IBM SP and Linux technologies, that will allow researchers to explore the optimal use of Linux for scientific applications as well as management strategies for hybrid clusters. This multi-technology platform will serve as a test bed for UNM and IBM researchers to integrate heterogeneous information systems into a solution that could be replicated at other science and technology sites.
“Our goal is to explore the boundaries of high-performance computing by connecting cutting-edge IBM deep computing technology with Linux clusters,” said Rod Adkins, general manager, IBM RS/6000. “We expect the hypercluster will enable researchers at UNM to pursue the solution of difficult problems in scientific and visual computing while also creating insight into interesting issues of interoperability between Linux and AIX clusters.”
An IBM Shared University Research (SUR) grant awarded to the University of New Mexico’s High Performance Computing, Education, and Research Center (HPCERC) will provide the hypercluster hardware and software. This will include an AIX-based symmetric multi-processor IBM RS/6000 SP system and a Linux-based symmetric multi-processor IBM Netfinity cluster, as well as an advanced networking infrastructure, parallel data storage, and a prototype Scalable Graphics Engine from IBM Research for use in visualization research.
“UNM hosts a Linux supercluster for the National Science Foundation’s National Computational Science Alliance (Alliance) at the Albuquerque High Performance Computing Center (AHPCC) and a large, DoD-funded IBM SP configuration at the Maui High Performance Computing Center (MHPCC),” said Dr. William Gordon, president of UNM. “Vista Azul will capitalize on our expertise with these technologies and user groups to investigate hybrid technologies to solve a wide array of computational applications problems.”
Source: IBM