HPC Everywhere – without “ClusterPhobia” !
Tapping into Vast New Markets with Standards-Based Clusters
Every so often technology passes a tipping point that profoundly changes how we survive and thrive on this planet. At this particular moment in history, the pieces are falling into place for another major step forward— the ubiquitous use of high-performance computing (HPC).
Large research labs as well as mid-market firms are testing the transformative value of modeling and simulation using HPC clusters. The traditional 'design-prototype-test environment' is propelled forward with the new high performance Intel® Xeon® E5 Processor-based Intel® Cluster Ready clusters (1). Robust product development “time-to-market” is greatly shortened. Cost savings, risk reduction and rapid implementation are also benefits of building on a standardized architecture. An Intel® Cluster Ready certified cluster can be purchased and deployed in days, rather than weeks or months. No more “Linux administration” experience needed. Systems are ready for use immediately upon installation, and will run many of today’s most popular design, simulation, and modeling applications “out of the box”.
Clusters were hard. Now they’re easy ! No “Cluster-phobia” !
This is a true game-changer.
We’re looking at increases in innovation and productivity not seen since the industrial revolution. At a time when business and governments are struggling throughout the world, HPC technology has the potential to jumpstart entire economies. Ultimately, expect to see HPC in every industry— financial services, health care, drug development, climatology, energy development, food production.
Yet - the potential demand for digital simulation, and the HPC opportunities associated, remains enormous and largely untapped. In the US alone there are an estimated 150,000 small and mid-size manufacturers that could benefit substantially from augmenting or replacing physical prototyping with simulation methods. Most of these businesses lack the internal expertise to implement or manage a cluster. Many rely on workstations or smaller systems for design, engineering, and analysis, and may not realize that digital modeling and simulation could help them improve quality, speed time-to-market, and cut costs. (2)
The time to engage with this massive new market is now.
The technological pieces are in place and the value proposition is compelling. New clusters based on the upcoming Intel® Xeon® processor E5 product family (codenamed Sandy Bridge) deliver another major boost in performance and value to fuel higher adoption rates. The market is ready and waiting. Do you or your customers have limited in-house cluster experience? This summer, with two long time Intel® Cluster Ready partners, ICON and Fujitsu, Intel will be demonstrating how easy turnkey cluster deployments with computational fluid dynamics can be. ICON will demonstrate FOAMPro and illustrate how affordable open source CFD solver technology is changing the way to look at product design. All this on an Intel® Cluster Ready Primergy Fujitsu BX400 S1. Look for the Summer 2012 roadshow schedule and registration here. Cluster computing is getting faster, simpler, and a lot more cost-effective, which is opening up new opportunities for everyone. Get on board !
(1) Intel Cluster Ready was established to foster this collaborative environment by establishing a standards-based cluster architecture that could support a broad range of applications. Clusters can now be designed and built through the horizontal integration of standard hardware and software building blocks, without the resource-intensive vertical integration that has traditionally been required for every new cluster.
(2) For more information about the ubiquitous use of HPC, read the Intel Cluster Ready article: “Intel in HPC – The Road Ahead Looks Broad and Fast,” by Dr. Stephen Wheat, General Manager, Intel High Performance Computing. [Link title to http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/partner-newsletter-q3-2011-intel-cluster-ready-articles-1/]
