Dell Installs Big Cluster of Servers, Looks at Web Sales

Bob Brewin   Today’s Top Stories   or  Other Servers Stories  

Server Management: The tried and true vendors vs. the new-idea startups Gain a faster, cheaper way to manage workload Blades: fast growing and incompatible Virtualization Analysis for VMware Solving 9 Common IT Challenges Through Workload Profiling and Portability Green IT: Reducing Your Carbon Footprint with Citrix Learn-Fast Guide: Get Up to Speed on Green IT SaaS Solutions for Remote Systems Management Learn-Fast Guide: Software as a Service is Growing Up Sign up to receive Servers Resource Alerts

September 9, 2002 (Computerworld) -- Dell Computer Corp. last week announced the installation of the second-largest server cluster sold to date under a high-performance computing initiative it launched in February. And Dell executives said users will eventually be able to order such systems via the company's Web site.

The Linux-based cluster bought for the State University of New York's Buffalo campus includes about 2,000 of Dell's PowerEdge servers, with a combined total of more than 4,000 Intel processors. The system, valued at $13 million to $14 million, is supported by a storage-area network with more than 16TB of disk storage.

The clustered supercomputer can process up to 5.7 trillion floating-point operations per second and was designed for use in bioinformatics research at the Buffalo campus, including an analysis of what the proteins in different parts of the human genome do.

Thus far, the system installed at the school—known officially as the University at Buffalo—is surpassed only by a cluster that Dell sold to Paris-based Compagnie Generale de Geophysique for analyzing seismic data as part of oil exploration activities . That cluster was recently updated to include 4,096 processors, Dell said.

A Stretch for Dell?

Such high-performance clusters are seemingly far removed from the desktops, laptops and low-end servers for which Dell is best known. But Reza Rooholamini, Dell's director of operating systems and clusters, said the day will come when the server clusters can be ordered via the Web.

Rooholamini didn't say when that is likely to happen and conceded that a cluster "is more complex from an ordering standpoint than a notebook PC." But, he said, "it basically uses the same piece parts as our servers. We are just taking these parts and building blocks and connecting them into a supercomputer."

Michael Dell, the company's chairman and CEO, made a similar point during an interview last month . He said he doesn't view the clusters as being much different from other products. "All technology over time commoditizes at its simplest level," Dell said.

Mark Melenovsky, an analyst at Framingham, Mass.-based IDC, called the sale of large-scale cluster computers "the only bright spot in the server market" this year. IDC reported two weeks ago that total worldwide server sales fell by 17% year to year in the second quarter. But Melenovsky said he has seen a boom in the sale of large clusters with hundreds or thousands of nodes.

Nonetheless, he added that it's "a bit of a stretch" for Dell to believe it can take its build-to-order model to the supercomputer level. Melenovsky instead predicted the growth of a boutique services industry to help users handle the complex ordering and installation of large clusters.

A spokeswoman for Dell wouldn't specify how many large clusters the company has sold this year. But she said Dell has installed "hundreds of clusters" altogether, including at least 16 systems that each have more than 100 server nodes.

Continued...
1 | 2 | NEXT  

Print this Story

Send Us Feedback

E-mail this Story

Digg this Story

Slashdot this Story

"This specialty hardware company has a store about 60 miles from headquarters, with a PC that connects to the corporate..." Read more... "This IT pilot fish heads a group responsible for backing up a large pool of servers with a huge amount..." Read more... Read more Servers & Data Center posts or See all Blogs

Vista users rush for SP1, XP owners dawdle on SP3 iPhone 3G owner sues Apple over dropped calls, slow speeds Microsoft eases use of Photosynth Facebook hopes new ad scheme can engage users Microsoft to buy up to $100M in Novell SUSE Linux support vouchers Ericsson, STMicro to form mobile chip venture Wi-Fi in-flight comes to some American routes How to turn a software pirate into a paying customer Yahoo Buzz poses serious threat to Digg, some users say Emergency notification displays to bolster Virginia Tech alert systems More top stories...

WSJ: Microsoft hires Seinfeld to bite Apple China blocks iTunes, users claim Amazon launches persistent storage in the EC2 cloud Mozilla names best Firefox 3 add-ons Apple's MobileMe lacks key security feature Get tough on telecommuting: 6 questions to ask before you say yes Comcast: New traffic management plan still in the works Online encyclopedia lists internal network security threats Microsoft seeds WSUS with Windows 7 Client Palm plans to sell Treo Pro without U.S. operator partner

Forgotten PC history: The true origins of the personal computer The x86's lineage can be traced back to 1968, to a design on a napkin drawn by Austin O. "Gus" Roche, an all-but-forgotten engineer in Texas who was obsessed with creating a personal computer. Make Leopard leap: Time-saving tips for OS X 10.5 Are you using the latest version of Mac OS X efficiently? Try our tips and watch your productivity soar. Free Windows XP tuneup: Put new life into an old workhorse Just because Microsoft's done with XP doesn't mean you have to be. Keep XP in the game with these downloads, tweaks and hacks. Opinion: Why the iPhone is Apple's Trojan horse Apple's new iPhone software is more significant for IT than the new iPhone itself, says Michael Gartenberg. Windows Vista A to Z Reviews, analyses, how-tos, visual tours, hot issues and predictions about Microsoft's new OS. More Continuing Coverage After 9/11: Homeland Security Apple's iPhone Ask a Premier 100 IT Leader Bill Gates steps down BlackBerry Legal Battle Data Security Breaches Electronic Voting Firefox H-1B Visas HP's Boardroom Scandal Handheld Devices Hurricane Katrina Aftermath Microsoft Legal Issues Microsoft's Vista Open Source RFID Technology SCO's Linux Fight Sarbanes-Oxley Act Spam Voice Over IP Wi-Fi Windows Meta File Vulnerability Windows XP Service Pack 3 IT Careers 2010 Four years from now, the IT field will be a vastly different place. Will you be ready? More Special Reports Premier 100 IT Leaders 2007 Best in Class 2006 Computerworld Horizon Awards 2006 Premier 100 IT Leaders 2006 Salary Survey 2007 Best Places to Work in IT 2007 IT Forecast 2007 Premier 100 IT Leaders 40 Years of Computerworld ASPs, Take Two Best Places to Work in IT 2003 Best Places to Work in IT 2004 Best Places to Work in IT 2005 Best Places to Work in IT 2006 Business Intelligence Home Runs Business Intelligence: Smarter BI Business Intelligence: The Future of BI CRM Goes Vertical CRM: Sober CRM Career Planning Guide 2005 Careers: IT Profession 2010 Computerworld Horizon Awards 2005 Data Management: Mining for Gems Data Management: Taming Data Chaos Development: Hard-Workin' Web Sites Development: New Tools New Choices Development: The New World of Application Development Development: The Web Services Tsunami Development: Web Services Hurdles Disaster Recovery: Preparing for the Worst E-commerce Grows Up E-mail/Groupware: Big Decisions Faces of Mobile IT Forecast 2006 Global Mobile Hardware: Multiple Cores, Multiple Challenges Hardware: On-Demand Un-Hyped Hardware: The Shape of Things to Come Horizon Awards: 10 Cool Cutting Edge Technologies IT Management: Guide to Managing Vendors IT Management: Navigating Global IT IT Management: Recovery Ahead IT Management: The Future of IT IT Management: The Resourceful Project Manager Innovative Technology Awards 2004 Management: Reinventing IT Microsoft in Transition Mobile/Wireless Leaders and Laggards Mobile/Wireless: The Untethered Worker Mobile/Wireless: Tiny Gadgets, Huge Costs Network Management: Taking Control Networking: Turbulence Ahead! Networking: VoIP Goes Mainstream Operating Systems: In the Slow Lane Operating Systems: Linux Goes Global Operating Systems: Should You Nix Unix? Outsourcing: Offshore Buyer's Guide Outsourcing: Outsourcing Dangers Premier 100 IT Leaders 2004 Best in Class Premier 100 IT Leaders 2005 Best in Class ROI: Do the Math! Salary Survey 2003 Salary Survey 2004 Salary Survey 2005 Security Action Plan Security: Compliance Headaches Security: Proactive Security Security: Risk and Reward Security: Tips From Security Pros Souped-up Security Storage: Battling Complexity Storage: Cheap & Secure Data Stores Storage: Stretching Your Storage Dollars Storage: The Lean Storage Machine Storage: The New Rules of Storage Storage: The Ultimate Backup Guide Supply Chain: Missing Links Supply Chain: RFID Reality Check The Business of Security Web 2.0 Security Wireless: Wireless At Work All Zones Application Performance Zone Business Continuity Zone The File Data Management Zone Security Management Zone ITIL Best Practices Zone The SAS Zone Business Intelligence and Analytics Zone Windows Protection Zone Identity & Security Management Zone See your link here

Learn-Fast Guide: Get Up to Speed on Green IT (Source: Computerworld) Whether it's in the front office or the server room, green thinking can save energy, trees and money. From the Editorial Staff at Computerworld, here's the latest thinking on greening your operations. Download this executive briefing  Embracing Innovation - The Business Case for PC Blades Embracing Innovation - The Business Case for PC Blades Watch this webcast now! Go to the webcast  Virtualization Everywhere Download this white paper, free, compliments of Citrix. (Source: Citrix) Adoption of virtualization is concentrated among large enterprises, while adoption by mid-sized companies has been much slower. For these companies, the cost and complexity of server virtualization solutions has been a barrier. In this paper, we'll discuss how Citrix XenServer" provides simple, economical server virtualization for any size company. Download now! Download this white paper  White Papers Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services. Leading Analyst Firm: Penetration Testing is a Requirement Gartner Paper: US Data Centers - The Calm Before the Storm How Much Will an Office 2007 and Vista Migration Hurt? View more whitepapers

• Vista users rush for SP1, XP owners dawdle on SP3
• WSJ: Microsoft hires Seinfeld to bite Apple
• iPhone 3G owner sues Apple over dropped calls, slow speeds
• More top stories 

SQL Anywhere Developer Edition Download SQL Anywhere is the industry-leading mobile and embedded database. Designed for database-powered applications that operate in frontline environments without onsite IT support, SQL Anywhere offers enterprise-caliber features in a database that is easily embedded and widely deployed in server, desktop, remote office and mobile applications. Download the free SQL Anywhere Developer Edition

Intercept Spam & Viruses With MessageLabs MessageLabs is offering a complimentary 30 day trial of its managed Anti-virus and Anti-spam security solutions. MessageLabs guarantees complete protection against all know and unknown email threats. By providing 24 hour support, your business can increase productivity and decrease risk. Register for a complimentary trial and receive a free datasheet. Download this white paper now!