Supercomputing made affordable for HPC Departmental users IBM Departmental Supercomputing Solutions Now, with the recent introduction of densely packaged rack-optimized servers and blades along with advances in software technology that make it easier to manage and exploit resources, it is possible to extend the benefits of clustered computing to individuals and small departments. Affordable Supercomputing for HPC Highlights With the IBM Departmental Departmental Users Supercomputing Solutions, barriers to Scientists, engineers and researchers deploying clustered servers—high ■ Complete High Performance have long chosen clustered servers price, complexity, floor-space require- Computing (HPC) solutions with as the preferred solution for large, ments, power consumption levels— pre-tested, densely packaged complex and computational- and have been overcome. Clients with clustered servers deliver high data-intensive problems. Clusters smaller budgets and staff but with performance at a modest price have also proven to be a cost- challenging problems to solve can effective method for managing mixed ■ Includes innovative software tools now leverage the same supercom- HPC workloads. It is common today making cluster systems manage- puting technology used by large for clusters to be used by large cor- ment easy while reducing the time organizations and prestigious labs. porations, universities and govern- it takes to use the solution ment labs to solve problems in life productively IBM Departmental Supercomputing sciences, petroleum exploration, Solutions are offered in a variety of ■ structural design, high-energy Choice to run either Linux or packaged, pre-tested clustered con- physics, finance and securities, Microsoft® Windows® environ- figurations. Clients have the flexibility ments for enhanced flexibility and more. High Performance Computing to choose configurations with 1U ● Have you determined that a clus- But despite all the advantages of (1.75 inches high) servers or blades tered solution would be the best clustering, users should be aware in reduced-sized racks and with approach to handle workloads but that clusters can be difficult to con- Intel® Xeon™ or AMD Opteron™ have not deployed one because of struct from scratch. There are many processors. Clients can choose to run lack of budget, skills or physical technical alternatives to consider, and Linux or Microsoft Windows operating space? slight mismatches between compo- systems. Clients have access to infor- ● Are you concerned that your orga- nents in a cluster can result in poor mation about software products from nization’s competitiveness is threat- performance, lowered reliability and IBM vendor partners that can help ened because your HPC system administration nightmares. them choose the right tools to can’t expand with the growth of enhance their productivity and help workloads? IBM Departmental Supercomputing them acquire trial or permanent Solutions are comprehensive cluster license versions of software. And, IBM Departmental Supercomputing packages offered in a variety of con- IBM offers optional implementation Solutions may be the ideal choice. figurations to suit the needs of most and technical support services and smaller organizations. Each cluster attractive leasing and financing Clustering for Performance and consists of compute servers devoted options. Growth to running applications, a manage- Clustering of servers has become a ment server in place for administering ● Do you or your organization have popular approach to solving large, the cluster resources, and a network workloads that have become too complex HPC problems because very interconnect to allow communications complex to solve in a reasonable high levels of sustained performance to and among the compute servers. amount of time or with the required can be delivered in a cost-effective (See table for a list of cluster configu- precision on your current com- manner. Clusters are also popular ration choices.) puting system? because workloads can be partitioned and managed flexibly, resources can be balanced against the available workload, and systems can be expanded incrementally as workload increases. Choosing the right compute servers ● IBM ^ xSeries® 335—Dual Single point of control simplifies is the key to successful cluster Intel Xeon processor server in a management deployment. IBM Departmental 1U rack-optimized form-factor These compute servers are combined Supercomputing Solutions offer the with the powerful IBM ^ following choices: With dual high-speed Intel Xeon xSeries 345 management server processors, the x335 delivers max- which is the single point of administra- ● IBM ^® BladeCenter™ imum xSeries performance density tion for all cluster resources. The x345 HS20—Up to 14 dual Intel Xeon in a flexible server package. The communicates with every compute processor blade servers in a 7U x335 helps deliver the performance server in the cluster over a highly chassis that businesses need to succeed, secure Ethernet virtual LAN the manageability to unburden IT (VLAN). Each IBM Departmental BladeCenter modular design staff, and reliability to provide Supercomputing Solution also gathers computing resources into peace of mind. includes a separate Gigabit Ethernet cost-effective, high-density enclo- VLAN interconnecting all compute sures that support hot-swappable, ● IBM ^325—Dual AMD servers for application internode com- high-performance 2-way Intel Opteron processor server in a 1U munications, and a terminal server processor-based blade servers. rack-optimized form-factor network for remote console capability. The BladeCenter design addresses most serious issues: space con- Designed for HPC, the e325 is The IBM Departmental straints, manageability, scalability, ideal for customers who need Supercomputing Solutions are pack- capacity, performance, cooling and leading 32-bit performance with an aged in economical and space-saving power. BladeCenter servers are easy migration path to 64-bit com- 11U and 25U cabinets along with the designed to take less time to install, puting at an affordable price. The larger 42U cabinet. All configurations fewer people to maintain and cost AMD64™ architecture uses an have been optimized for balanced less than a traditional server solu- integrated memory controller and performance, efficient cabling, proper tion, helping reduce IT infrastruc- innovative HyperTransport™ tech- cooling—and each system is pack- ture costs. BladeCenter technology nology to provide memory access aged and tested as a cluster in the features deliver an effective scale- and substantial I/O bandwidth at factory before being shipped to out architecture that makes adding the speed of the processor. In clients. capacity simple and affordable. addition to delivering outstanding 64-bit price/performance, the e325 enables clients to run both 32- and 64-bit applications simultaneously. This feature gives clients the flexi- bility to run existing applications and operating systems at peak performance today—while also providing a 64-bit migration path for future applications to grow as your business needs grow. High Performance Computing IBM Departmental Supercomputing Solutions—Cluster Configuration Choices 4-node cluster featuring 1U xSeries 335 compute nodes in 11U rack A small-scale, 4-node, expandable cluster ideal for high availability, infrastructure, or departmental workloads that utilizes dual Intel Xeon processor x335 servers for compute nodes and the powerful dual Intel Xeon processor x345 for cluster management node. 4-node cluster featuring 1U eServer 325 compute nodes in 11U rack A small-scale, 4-node, expandable cluster ideal for high performance 32-bit and/or 64-bit departmental workloads that utilizes dual AMD Opteron processor e325 servers for compute nodes and the powerful dual Intel Xeon processor x345 for cluster management node. 8- and 16-node clusters featuring 1U xSeries 335 compute nodes in 25U rack These 8- and 16-node clusters feature dual Intel Xeon processor x335 1U servers for compute nodes and the powerful dual Intel Xeon processor x345 for the cluster management node. 8- and 16-node clusters featuring 1U eServer 325 compute nodes in 25U rack These 8- and 16-node clusters feature dual AMD Opteron processor e325 1U servers for compute nodes and the powerful dual Intel Xeon processor x345 for the cluster management node. 14- and 28-node clusters featuring IBM ^ BladeCenter in 25U Rack These 14- and 28-node clusters feature our IBM ^ BladeCenter HS20 for compute nodes and the powerful dual Intel Xeon processor x345 for cluster management node. The 14-node cluster utilizes the BladeCenter chassis with 14 dual processor HS20 blade servers sharing redundant resources such as power supplies and cooling fans. The 28-node cluster configuration utilizes two chassis with 14 blade servers installed in each. 32-node clusters featuring xSeries 335 compute nodes in 42U enterprise rack This powerful 32-node Cluster 1350 features dual Intel Xeon processor x335 1U servers for compute nodes and the powerful dual Intel Xeon processor x345 for the cluster management node. The 42U enterprise rack includes all required cabling as well as a 17" flat panel monitor. This design is readily expandable, and can be configured to your individual needs if necessary. 32-node clusters featuring eServer 325 compute nodes in 42U enterprise rack This powerful 32-node Cluster 1350 features dual AMD Opteron processor e325 1U servers for compute nodes and the powerful dual Intel Xeon processor x345