HPCwire: Jack Dongarra to Work with SiCortex on Computing Projects

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April 11, 2008

Jack Dongarra to Work with SiCortex on Computing Projects

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Will team with company in development of new HPC benchmark

MAYNARD, Mass., April 8 -- SiCortex, the emerging leader in compact, low power Linux clusters, announced today that it will team up with Dr. Jack Dongarra of the University of Tennessee, one of the most influential voices in high performance computing (HPC), on a variety of research projects that take advantage of the company's unique high performance, low power architecture. Dongarra has acquired an SC072 Catapult deskside supercomputer as a dedicated platform for this research.

Dongarra heads the Innovative Computing Lab at the University of Tennessee, an institution with a long history of groundbreaking work in computer science. He holds the title of University Distinguished Professor of Computer Science in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department at the University of Tennessee, and participates in the group that compiles the TOP500 list, a twice-yearly ranking of the world's 500 most powerful computer systems.

"I have followed the development of SiCortex's architecture with a great deal of interest," Dongarra said. "The combination of low power and high performance promises a solution to many of the challenges currently facing high performance computing. I always appreciate the opportunity to contribute to the development of fundamentally new solutions to these challenges."

Dongarra will work with SiCortex on a variety of projects. Examples include development of a new parallel processing communication performance benchmark, porting and tuning of the OpenMPI communication library, and other activities that apply the skills and talents that Dongarra's Innovative Computing Laboratory brings to bear in linear algebra, numerical methods, OpenMPI, performance analysis and benchmark development. Beyond the direct collaboration, the Catapult will provide students at the Innovative Computing Laboratory unlimited access to a high performance Linux cluster, supporting development of new algorithms and techniques for high performance computing.

The Catapult is a 72-processor cluster in a quiet, low-power deskside enclosure. It provides researchers with a high processor count system that can sit beside a desk, accelerating the development of new parallel processing applications. Because it can be dedicated to a small team of researchers, the Catapult is ideally suited for use in university settings.

"Jack Dongarra is one of the most influential thinkers in HPC, and we welcome the opportunity to collaborate with him," said SiCortex CEO Dr. John Mucci. "In addition to his contributions to the advancement of HPC, he has played a leading role in the education of new generations of computer scientists. We find it particularly satisfying that he has recognized the advantages of utilizing SiCortex's architecture in his work."

SiCortex has introduced a new concept in high performance computing, reducing power consumption and physical size to gain performance. The company has implemented a complete multicore cluster node on a chip, including six 64-bit processors, multiple memory controllers, a high performance cluster interconnect and a PCIexpress connection to storage and internetworking. A SiCortex multicore node consumes 15 watts of power, an order of magnitude less than the 250 watts used in a conventional cluster node. SiCortex's product line ranges from the SC072 deskside supercomputer to the SC5832, which can perform six trillion operations per second in a cabinet that is less than one-third the size of conventional clusters.

About SiCortex

SiCortex, the emerging leader in compact, low power multicore Linux systems, is dedicated to the proliferation of open teraflop computing to a wide variety of users by providing "Teraflops from Milliwatts." Founded in 2003 by a respected team of computer industry executives, the company is backed by a number of top tier investors, including Chevron Technology Ventures, Flagship Ventures, JK&B Capital, Polaris Venture Partners and Prism VentureWorks. For more information visit http://www.sicortex.com.

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