[ Thanks to Matt for
this link. ]
“Ironically, figuring out the interactions of tiny genes
requires massive processing power. So research centers are
increasingly investing in off-the-shelf server hardware to create
supercomputers capable of the compute-intensive work that these
endeavors require.“Fortunately, the Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics,
nestled at the University at Buffalo’s campus will soon have over
1.32 TeraFlops at its disposal. The aim is harness that power and
apply it to the genetic research that one day might lead to cures
for the diseases that have been befuddling researchers, such as
Alzheimer’s, MS and AIDS.“To generate 1.32 TeraFlops, IBM is crafting for the university
a supercomputer comprised of 266 Bladcenter HS20s powered by Red
Hat Advance Server 2.1. Each two-way HS20 will be outfitted with
Intel Xeons rated at 2.8 GHz and a full gigabyte of RAM…”