14 October 2008

ClusterVision to Deliver Belgium's Fastest Computer (Again)

ClusterVision, specialist in high performance compute, storage and database clusters, has been selected by the University of Gent to deliver a supercomputer based on IBM hardware and ClusterVision software. The supercomputer will be used by scientists at the university to boost research in various fields of science, including Informatics, Chemistry, Medicine and Genetics.

With a theoretical peak performance of 16 TeraFLOPs, it will be the fastest computer in Belgium. For ClusterVision this will be second time to achieve this feat: In 2004, ClusterVision delivered a 1 TeraFLOP supercomputer to CENAERO in Belgium, which — with a performance of 1 TeraFLOPs — was the most powerful one in Belgium at the time.

The supercomputer at the University of Gent will be built with blade servers and storage from IBM. It comprises more than 1600 energy-efficient Intel® Xeon® L5420 processor cores, more than 3 TeraBytes of memory and more than 44 TeraBytes of disk capacity. The servers in the supercomputer are connected through a state-of-the-art InfiniBand Double Data Rate network.

The supercomputer will run the ClusterVisionOS™, ClusterVision's Linux-based cluster operating system and cluster management environment that makes it easy for the administrators to manage the clusters and for the scientists to use the cluster. The cluster will also run the IBM General Parallel Filesystem (GPFS), which ensures fast and parallel access to the central disk storage.

About the University of Gent
Founded in 1817 by King Willem I of Orange, the University of Gent is now one of the most important universities in Belgium. The University has eleven departments, including Philosophy, Engineering, Pharmacy, Veterinary Science, Economy and Sociology. Five Doctoral Schools have been implemented to give extra focus to support junior researchers.

About ClusterVision
ClusterVision is specialist in the design, implementation and support of small- and large-scale computer clusters. Their clustering technology provides a cost-effective alternative to traditional supercomputers by connecting multiple computers to form a unified powerful computing system. ClusterVision's team of experts has designed and built some of the largest and most complex computational, storage and database clusters in Europe. With a background in applied scientific research and practical experience with a wide range of HPC technologies, the team understands customers' requirements and provides tailor-made solutions. ClusterVision has offices in Amsterdam, Gloucester (UK), Munich, Paris, Geneva, Milan, Oslo and Madrid.

For more information
Dr ir Matthijs van Leeuwen
ClusterVision BV
Nieuw-Zeelandweg 15B
1045 AL Amsterdam
Netherlands
Tel: +31 20 407 7550
Fax: +31 84 759 8389
m [dot] vanleeuwen [at] clustervision [dot] com

Photo of IBM BladeCenter chassis and blade servers, similar to those in the supercomputer for the University of Gent

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