“A computer program that enables a collection of
off-the-shelf desktop computers to rank among the world’s fastest
supercomputers has been released to the public by Sandia National
Laboratories. The program, called Cplant system software,
dramatically extends the capability of researchers to modularly
assemble large blocks of off-the-shelf computer components.The rationale behind this open-source release is to allow
researchers free access to the body of research and development
that created the most scalable, Linux-based, off-the-shelf computer
available, says Sandia manager Neil Pundit.The hope, says Pundit, is that modifications and enhancements
made by researchers elsewhere will enrich the system software, and
that these improvements will be communicated back to Sandia.”