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Stanford University Advances High-Performance Computing
Stanford Engineering School Speeds Communications for Research Efforts in Large-Scale Simulations and Visualization
| Source: Cisco Systems
SAN JOSE, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- November 14, 2006 -- Cisco® (NASDAQ : CSCO ) today announced that
Stanford University, a premier research and education institution, is able
to conduct first-of-a-kind complex computer simulations at its
High-Performance Computing Center (HPCC) using Cisco 7008 InfiniBand Server
Fabric Switches as the platform for server and inter-switch. After
stringent benchmarking to determine the overall price-performance of the
top-ranked InfiniBand switches available in the market, Stanford selected
the Cisco switches based on superior reliability, high availability, and
serviceability.
The new Stanford HPCC supports sponsored research efforts and credit-based
courses within the School of Engineering, and has already become a leading
center for large-scale simulations of computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
and other engineering problems that require massively parallel computing
resources.
"The goal was to evaluate and choose the best price-performance options for
each key cluster component and establish a reproducible best practice for
rapid deployment," said Steve Jones, founder of the HPCC and HPC manager
for flow physics and computational engineering. "We were looking for an
inter-connect based on InfiniBand technology, but it wasn't just about
finding the best hardware component. We wanted a complete solution
including the message-passing layer -- a solid hardware and software
combination."
The Cisco 7008 Server Fabric Switches support dual-speed InfiniBand 4X
double data rate (DDR) and single data rate (SDR) interfaces that deliver
20 and 10 gigabits-per-second bandwidth per port, respectively. The
non-blocking cross-sectional bandwidth with low port-to-port latency
enables the creation of high-performance server fabrics within large-scale
clusters.
The Cisco solution also integrates easily into the open, standards-based
compute environment of the HPCC, which includes Linux-based servers and
Rocks cluster management software.
Additional benefits of the Cisco Server Fabric Switch solution include ease
of installation and management, clean drivers and software stack to
simplify support efforts, highly skilled Cisco engineers with in-depth
understanding of HPC paradigms.
The results have been very successful for the Stanford HPCC and its
prestigious base of researchers. "By finding an optimal combination of
foundational cluster technologies, we've been able to refine the art of
cluster deployment and operation," says Jones. "The InfiniBand solution has
helped us achieve very scalable results with CFD and other simulation
codes. Just as important, we've had no failures that require restarts of
applications. When codes can take more than a week to run, it's imperative
that we provide cluster solutions with the best possible sustained
uptimes."
The HPCC server clusters are now enabling first-of-a-kind simulations for
the study of structural dynamics, contact problems, nonlinear
aeroelasticity of fighter aircraft, fluid-structure interaction, underwater
acoustics, inverse problems, and shape optimization.
"Storage systems could also benefit from the high-speed, low-latency
characteristics of an InfiniBand fabric," said Jones. "We plan to further
explore InfiniBand switching solutions to continue to push cluster
platforms beyond current capacities and capabilities."
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