Itanium-based Linux cluster put to the test

SGI has installed one of the first Intel Itanium-based Linux clustered systems at a US university to test Linux clusters as a replacement for MPP (massively parallel processor) systems.

The Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC) has installed a four-node Linux cluster running on two Itanium processors per node. The system will be used to run parallel scientific and engineering codes.

Al Stutz, director of high-performance computing at the university, said: "The project is a joint research between OSC and SGI to investigate the feasibility of using Linux clusters in place of traditional MPP systems for a diverse set of engineering and scientific problems."

The system will initially be used by OSC staff, but from next month restricted numbers of academic researchers will be allowed to port their applications on to the platform.

OSC provides the computing and communications infrastructure for a wide range of regional projects for academia, governments and businesses. One project involves simulating a temporal bone dissection, which is expected to influence future medical procedures and instructions.