SuSE Linux today announced the general availability of the SuSE
Linux Enterprise Server 8 for the Intel Itanium Processor Family,
and that it has been chosen to drive parts of the “TeraGrid,” a
scientific computing system accessible to researchers across the
United States.
Funded by the National Science Foundation, the Distributed
Terascale Facility (DTF) is a joint undertaking of the National
Center for Supercomputing Applications, the San Diego
Supercomputing Center, Argonne National Laboratory and the
California Institute of Technology. The “TeraGrid”–an
interconnected series of clusters–enables thousands of scientists
around the country to share computing resources over the world’s
fastest research network in search of breakthroughs in life
sciences, climate modeling and other critical disciplines.
The deal for SuSE, estimated at several hundred thousand USD,
comes in partnership with IBM Global Services–who is deploying
clusters of SuSE Linux systems at the four DTF sites. The servers
will be based on current and future Intel Itanium 2 processors. IBM
supercomputing software–CSM and GPFS–will handle cluster and file
management tasks. Myricom’s Myrinet interconnect will enable
interprocessor communication.
The system will have a storage capacity of more than 600
terabytes of data, or the equivalent of 146 million full-length
novels. A substantial portion of the grid’s storage infrastructure
will be enabled by IBM TotalStorage products and technologies.
“The availability of SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 for Itanium
2-based systems broadens the scope of Linux offerings on the
Itanium processor family, providing customers with an even greater
opportunity to develop and deploy high-end 64-bit Linux solutions,”
said Lisa Graff, director of Enterprise Processor Marketing, Intel
Enterprise Platform Group. “The selection of SuSE for the massive
Teragrid system demonstrates the stability, scalability and
performance of SuSE Linux Enterprise Server and Itanium 2-based
systems for complex implementations.”
“SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 for Intel Itanium Processor
Family has been developed in close collaboration with Intel, and
designed to meet the highest requirements in terms of availability,
stability, scalability and performance,” said Holger Dyroff,
General Manager Americas, SuSE Linux.”SuSE Linux Enterprise Server
is the clear choice for all high performance cluster efforts”
SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 for Intel Itanium Processor
Family contains four CDs, documentation, and the SuSE Linux
Maintenance Program for 12 months. SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 8
for Intel Itanium Processor Family can be obtained by the end of
March from SuSE and SuSE Linux Partners.