“Beowulf is a method of ganging lots of Linux-based computers
together to tackle heavy-duty calculation jobs. It’s sort of a
do-it-yourself, low-budget supercomputer that’s proven popular at
universities and government labs.
“Now, the broadening appeal of the technique has led
companies such as IBM and Compaq Computer to see Beowulf as a
possible product to add to the computing lineup.”
“We are very, very interested in this space and are looking at
it very hard,” said Tom Figgatt, who leads the e-business section
for IBM’s Netfinity server group. Beowulf Customers come from
companies working on pharmaceuticals, oil searching, structural
analysis, and visualization of complex data.
“And though Compaq is still focusing its Beowulf efforts on the
scientific and technical community, the company sees commercial
possibilities, such as converting the vast amounts of data in
company databases into useful information…”
