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IBM Selected to Build World's Most Powerful Computing Gridreleased August 9, 2001
Contact Multiple IBM eServer* Intel-based Linux Clusters and Storage Connected by Superfast Network to Achieve 13.6 Trillion Calculations Per SecondARMONK, NY — IBM was today selected by a consortium of four U.S. research centers to build the world's most powerful computing Grid, an interconnected series of Linux(R) clusters capable of processing 13.6 trillion calculations per second. The Grid system—known as the Distributed Terascale Facility (DTF)—will enable thousands of scientists around the country to share computing resources over the world's fastest research network in search of breakthroughs in life sciences, climate modeling and other critical disciplines. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the DTF is a joint undertaking of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), the San Diego Supercomputing Center (SDSC), Argonne National Laboratory, and the California Institute of Technology. The Grid will include not only the fastest supercomputers, but high-resolution visualization environments, toolkits for Grid computing, and data storage facilities integrated into an information infrastructure called the "TeraGrid." Ushering in a new era of scientific collaboration, the Grid will allow researchers to scan remote databases, run applications on far-flung computers, and view complex computer simulations in real-time from widely separated locations. Unlike traditional supercomputers, which are typically housed at a single location, Grids create vast pools of computing resources by connecting multiple, often widely-distributed supercomputers using the Internet or high-speed research networks as well as open source protocols from Globus (http://www.globus.org/). Organizations tap into these computing Grids to access processing capacity, data storage and bandwidth in much the same way that consumers draw electricity from a power grid.
IBM eServer, Storage and Services The system will have a storage capacity of more than 600 terabytes of data, or the equivalent of 146 million full-length novels. A substantial portion of the Grid's storage infrastructure will be enabled by IBM TotalStorage products and technologies. The Linux clusters will be connected to each other via a superfast, 40 gigabit per second Qwest network, creating a single computing system able to process 13.6 teraflops. A teraflop is a trillion calculations per second. The DTF will be more than a thousand times faster than IBM's Deep Blue supercomputer, which defeated chess champion Garry Kasparov in 1997. Using open protocols, the Linux clusters will smoothly connect to a heterogeneous collection of existing high performance computers at the four labs, creating a giant virtual computer that may be accessed from any point on the Grid. "IBM's leadership in supercomputing technology and our commitment to Linux and open standards enable us to provide the world's most powerful computers," said David Turek, IBM vice president of Linux emerging technologies. "Leveraging our strong relationship with Intel and Myricom in conjunction with Qwest, we look forward to building a Grid computing system that represents an important step in the evolution of the Internet and scientific collaboration." "The DTF will be the largest, most comprehensive infrastructure ever deployed for scientific research, and it will be powered by IBM Linux clusters," said Dan Reed, director of NCSA. "This is truly a cooperative effort among research labs and major corporations such as IBM to develop a new way to do computing and conduct research."
IBM Grid Expertise To help customers manage complex Grids, IBM offers scalable supercomputing systems and middleware with IBM eLiza self-management technologies. Project eLiza, announced by IBM earlier this year, is a company-wide program to develop systems that respond to the requirements of their environment in order to optimize performance across a network, improve security and survive failures. IBM also plans to Grid-enable key IBM systems and technologies, allowing them to be plugged into these growing worldwide networks quickly and easily. In the same way it played a leadership role in the commercial adoption of Linux, IBM is working with the Globus open source development community and the influential industry standards body, Global Grid Forum. Open protocols are essential to Grids because they enable heterogeneous systems to work together as a single system. The National Center for Supercomputing Applications is the leading-edge site for the National Computational Science Alliance. NCSA is a leader in the development and deployment of cutting-edge high-performance computing, networking, and information technologies. The National Science Foundation, the state of Illinois, the University of Illinois, industrial partners, and other federal agencies fund NCSA. The National Computational Science Alliance is a partnership to prototype an advanced computational infrastructure for the 21st century and includes more than 50 academic, government and industry research partners from across the United States. The Alliance is one of two partnerships funded by the National Science Foundation's Partnerships for Advanced Computational Infrastructure (PACI) program, and receives cost-sharing at partner institutions. SDSC is an organized research unit of the University of California, San Diego, and the leading-edge site of the National Partnership for Advanced Computational Infrastructure (NPACI). As a national laboratory for computational science and engineering, SDSC is funded by the National Science Foundation through NPACI and other federal agencies, the State and University of California, and private organizations. The National Partnership for Advanced Computational Infrastructure (NPACI) is advancing science by creating a ubiquitous, continuous, and pervasive national computational infrastructure: the Grid. This infrastructure for the 21st century builds on dramatic advances in information technology to enable distributed research by interdisciplinary teams. NPACI is funded by the National Science Foundation and led by the San Diego Supercomputer Center. It joins some 30 other funded partners and 16 domestic and international affiliates and collaborates with the Alliance members on numerous projects. The nation's first national laboratory, Argonne supports basic and applied scientific research across a wide spectrum of disciplines, ranging from high-energy physics to climatology and biotechnology. Since 1990, Argonne has worked with more than 600 companies and numerous federal agencies and other organizations to help advance America's scientific leadership and prepare the nation for the future. Argonne is operated by the University of Chicago as part of the U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory system. Founded in 1891, Caltech has an enrollment of some 2,000 students, and a faculty of about 290 professorial members. The Institute has more than 19,000 alumni. Caltech employs a staff of more than 2,400 on campus and 4,800 at JPL. Over the years, 28 Nobel Prizes and four Crafoord Prizes have been awarded to faculty members and alumni. Forty-seven Caltech faculty members and alumni have received the National Medal of Science; and eight alumni (two of whom are also trustees), two additional trustees, and one faculty member have won the National Medal of Technology. Since 1958, 13 faculty members have received the annual California Scientist of the Year award. On the Caltech faculty there are 78 fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; and on the faculty and Board of Trustees, 70 members of the National Academy of Sciences and 46 members of the National Academy of Engineering.
IBM, the e-business logo and xSeries are trademarks of IBM Corporation. Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. Other company, product and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.
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