On June 1, Hewlett-Packard Company, Convex Computer Corporation, and NCSA announced a collaborative effort built on a cluster of high-performance Hewlett-Packard (HP) workstations and a Convex supercomputer.
The HP/Convex cluster will be used by researchers for scalable application development. HP workstations at NCSA's site also will be used in the research and development of distributed-computing environments, distributed and parallel applications, and multimedia applications.
HP is providing more than $1 million of equipment to NCSA, including 18 desktop and deskside HP Apollo 9000 Series 700 workstations and multimedia software. The cluster will be tightly integrated with a CONVEX C3880 supercomputer creating a Meta Series using a high-performance interconnect and Convex software to generate the highest levels of application throughput performance. NCSA's users will access the cluster to carry out advanced scientific research in engineering, biology, materials and earth sciences, gas dynamics, computational chemistry, and seismic analysis.
The HP/Convex cluster is a major component of NCSA's metacomputer, a collection of supercomputers, workstations, data storage, and advanced imaging resources that are integrated via sophisticated software technology to give users an environment that is as straightforward to use as a single computer. The new cluster will spur NCSA efforts to build a scalable metacomputer based on leading-edge RISC technologies.
NCSA and the other three NSF centers--Cornell Theory Center, Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center, and San Diego Supercomputer Center--are extending the metacomputer concept to the National MetaCenter, a synthesis of the intellectual and computing resources of the four centers.
HP and Convex, in their partnership with NCSA, believe they can lead the market in the development of scalable computers, which provide several advantages over traditional high-end machines. Scalable computers are modular, upgradable, and binary-compatible from desktop to supercomputer, making them more economical and flexible than traditional supercomputers.
Because Convex's SPP system, expected to be available in mid-1994, will be binary-compatible with HP's PA-RISC processors, users will have access to more than 4,000 PA-RISC-based applications addressing a broad spectrum of scientific and engineering disciplines. In addition, the SPP system will be source-compatible with existing CONVEX C Series supercomputers so that customers can use the 1,300 third-party applications already running on Convex's current product line.
"This joint effort is further testimony to HP's status as the leading supplier of workstations to the scientific and engineering communities," says Gary B. Eichhorn, general manager of HP's Workstation Systems Group. "We're confident that the work the National MetaCenter is doing through NCSA and its other sites will one day fundamentally change the way we live our daily lives--at work and at home. HP is looking forward to this comprehensive, long-term partnership with NCSA, our continuing relationship with Convex, and to playing a key role in the development of the information infrastructure of tomorrow."
"The future of high-performance computing depends on the development and availability of software applications that are able to take advantage of the latest hardware advances," said Steven J. Wallach, Convex's senior vice president of technology. "We are pleased to collaborate with NCSA, a recognized leader in development of supercomputer applications, and to advance computer research in existing areas such as the national data highway. This effort further demonstrates the strength of Convex's partnership with HP and our commitment to PA-RISC technology on our current high-performance systems.
"We view the participation program as a strong new component to our Industrial Program, allowing partners to move toward scalable computing in a structured way in collaboration with our staff," said John Stevenson, NCSA corporate officer. The center's industrial partners include AT&T, Caterpillar, Dow Chemical, Eli Lilly, FMC, Kodak, J. P. Morgan, Motorola, Phillips Petroleum, Schlumberger, and United Technologies.
"The combination of HP workstations and Convex supercomputer technology is a key move toward realizing NCSA's goal of seamless desktop-to-teraflop capabilities," says NCSA Director Larry Smarr. "The wealth of third-party software programs available on these systems provides us with an excellent environment for real-world science and engineering problems."