LinuxWorld 2005: High-Performance, Ultra Low Latency Linux Clusters Powered by World's Fastest InfiniBand Interconnect

1 January 1970

PathScale, developer of innovative software and hardware solutions to accelerate the performance and efficiency of Linux® clusters, has certified a new four-socket system board from Supermicro® Computer Inc. for use with its PathScale InfiniPath™ HTX™ InfiniBand Adapter. PathScale's certification process has validated the performance of the Supermicro H8QC8/E server board using a suite of well-known HPC applications. The Supermicro H8QC8/E and the PathScale InfiniPath interconnect are being displayed in the PathScale booth at the LinuxWorld Conference and Expo in San Francisco.

More details on InfiniPath are available at: www.pathscale.com/infinipath.php

Supermicro Computer is a San Jose, CA-based manufacturer of high-performance Intel and AMD processor-based motherboards and servers. Optimized for 1U deployments, the new Supermicro H8QC8/E is the industry's first four-socket AMD Opteron™ processor-based motherboard that supports the HyperTransport HTX standard. The HTX slot permits a direct connection between the processor and the PathScale InfiniPath InfiniBand interconnect to deliver the world's lowest MPI latency and highest effective bandwidth.

"The new H8QC8/E demonstrates our strong commitment to serving the AMD Opteron server market with superior, innovative product designs," said Dr. Tau Leng, director of marketing at Supermicro. "We have added HTX capability to our new four-socket Opteron board to support PathScale's revolutionary InfiniPath InfiniBand interconnect and a wide selection of other HTX cards currently in development. Being the first server board supplier to offer HTX in a four socket design is strong evidence of Supermicro's technology leadership in the AMD Opteron market."

The PathScale InfiniPath adapter integrated with the Supermicro H8QC8/E motherboard enables system integrators to build highly scalable clusters using a standard InfiniBand fabric with an unprecedented low latency of 1.32 microseconds as measured with standard Ohio State MPI benchmarks. The highly pipelined, cut-through design of InfiniPath results in the industry's lowest latency and highest message rate for MPI applications. PathScale InfiniPath is the first commercial grade InfiniBand solution that enables users to reliably and efficiently solve their most challenging computational problems.

"PathScale and Supermicro have developed breakthrough technologies that allow us to deliver the most scalable, highest performance, lowest latency Linux cluster solutions," said Lalit Jain, CEO of Angstrom Microsystems, a leading integrator of AMD Opteron systems based in Boston, MA. "Our customers are expressing significant interest in the unprecedented performance made possible by the combination of AMD Opteron processors and the PathScale InfiniPath InfiniBand interconnect. This new four-socket Opteron HTX motherboard from Supermicro gives us the ability to fulfill that demand with our Titan64 AMD Opteron-based SuperBlade servers."

The combined Supermicro / PathScale technologies allow integrators to implement Linux clusters consisting of hundreds to thousands of nodes with up to eight processors each based on AMD's dual-core Opteron processors. Typical end-user customers for such clusters include large enterprises and scientific research institutions that require the best possible scaling and performance to run large simulation and modeling codes and other demanding, processor-intensive applications.

"No one at PathScale is surprised with how rapidly market demand is expanding for the HyperTransport architecture since it is enabling PathScale to deliver far lower latency and higher performance for applications deployed on Linux clusters," said Art Goldberg, COO of PathScale. "Supermicro is a real innovator in this market segment and therefore an ideal OEM server board supplier for the 27 AMD Opteron system providers around the globe that are currently reselling the PathScale InfiniPath InfiniBand interconnect."

Availability

The Supermicro H8QC8/E system board with support for standard HyperTransport HTX cards will be available in September 2005. The PathScale InfiniPath interconnect is available immediately from systems vendors participating in the PathScale FastPath™ reseller program described at www.pathscale.com/authorized_resellers.html

About Supermicro Computer, Inc.

Established in 1993, Supermicro emphasizes superior product design and uncompromising quality control to produce outstanding industry-leading motherboards, chassis and server systems that offer maximum functionality and compatibility. With a staunch commitment to quality and a leading tradition of being first to market, Supermicro's high-end motherboards and server systems consistently deliver cutting-edge performance and reliability. Supermicro specializes in Server Building Block Solutions for mission-critical applications such as high-end graphics, modular computing, and enterprise storage system development to better serve today's rapidly changing global business needs. Supermicro is the fastest growing high volume server manufacturer in the world today and provides outstanding quality and service that includes 24x7 Worldwide Technical Support. For additional information, please visit the company's website at www.Supermicro.com, email Marketing@Supermicro.com or call the San Jose, California campus headquarters at +1 (408) 503-8000, FAX +1 (408) 503-8008.

About PathScale

Based in Mountain View, California, PathScale develops innovative software and hardware technologies that substantially increase the performance and efficiency of Linux clusters, the next significant wave in high-end computing. Applications that benefit from PathScale's technologies include seismic processing, complex physical modeling, EDA simulation, molecular modeling, biosciences, econometric modeling, computational chemistry, computational fluid dynamics, finite element analysis, weather modeling, resource optimization, decision support and data mining. PathScale's investors include Adams Street Partners, Charles River Ventures, Enterprise Partners Venture Capital, CMEA Ventures, GF Private Equity LLC, ChevronTexaco Technology Ventures and the Dow Employees Pension Plan. For more details, visit www.pathscale.com, send email to sales@pathscale.com or telephone 1-650-934-8100.

Media Contact:

David Wright
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SOURCE: PathScale, Inc.