New 8-way Opeteron node added to PACE.

July 25, 2006

We are happy to announce the addition of a new, Sun V40Z node to the PACE cluster. This node contains 4 dual-core, Model 880 processors (2.4GHz), 16 GB of memory, and Infiniband interconnect. It goes by the name "pace7".

This is one of the largest, newest, and fastest nodes on the market today. The 8 core configuration makes it an excellent candidate solution for those OpenMP problems that can't run optimally on smaller nodes or for problems that can't scale as well with MPI across smaller nodes.

Sun describes the highlights of the V40Z performance as:

• Dual-core and single-core processor options: Support for up to four dual-core or four single-core processors gives you purchasing flexibility and investment protection. When fitted with dual-core processors, the Sun Fire V40z server delivers up to twice the performance without increasing power consumption.
• Large, fast, integrated memory: Support for up to 32 GB of ultrafast DDR1-400 SDRAM or DDR1-333 SDRAM accommodates your most memory-intensive applications. An integrated DDR DRAM memory controller on each processor also provides lower memory latency for shorter runtimes, and both available memory and memory bandwidth scale with the number of processors.
• Massive disk storage: The Sun Fire V40z server supports up to 1.8 TB of internal storage with up to six hot-swap Ultra320 SCSI disks. The ultrafast Ultra320 SCSI interface and the server's efficient disk utilization make it an excellent choice for I/O-bound applications or data redundancy.
• Exceptional scalability: Each dual-core processor delivers quantum performance gains, and each single-core processor offers near-linear scalability, maximizing your ROI. AMD's HyperTransport interconnect technology also banishes traditional x86 CPU and memory gridlock by eliminating I/O performance bottlenecks, providing extra headroom for growth.
• Grid Cluster scalability: Alternatively, you can deploy Sun Fire V40z servers with high-bandwidth, low-latency system interconnects such as Myrinet or InfiniBand to build a highly scalable computing x64 platform that can scale to thousands of CPUs.
Check out the Benchmark results.
• Fast network performance: The Sun Fire V40z server provides dual built-in Gigabit Ethernet ports and seven 64-bit high-speed PCI-X slots, providing high-performance I/O and maximum expandability in a 3 RU form factor.

See Sun Fire V40z Server for more information.

PACE Infiniband switch installed

June, 2006

PACE now supplies both Gigabit Ethernet and Infiniband for your computing needs. In addition to the Cisco Catalyst 3750 Series Gigabit Ethernet Switch, PACE now has the Cisco SFS 7000 Infiniband switch. This switch will greatly enhance the performance of those jobs needing higher inter-node communication speeds.

For more information on these switches and how to distinguish their use, see the Cluster Architecture section of the PACE Community Cluster Programming Guide.