HPCwire: SGI Intros x86 Servers with QDR InfiniBand

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June 24, 2009

SGI Intros x86 Servers with QDR InfiniBand

New Rackable servers feature ultra connectivity, memory and processor capabilities

FREMONT, Calif., June 24 -- SGI today announced the first Rackable x86 scale-out servers to support both on-board Quad Data Rate (QDR) 40Gb InfiniBand and 10Gb Ethernet connections. Available immediately, the new servers also leverage advanced memory capabilities and Intel Xeon 5500 series processors to deliver advanced processing performance for applications that demand higher performance.

With dual Quad Small Form-factor Pluggable (QSFP) ports running at 40Gb QDR InfiniBand and/or 10Gb Ethernet speeds, the Mellanox ConnectX-based, Landed-on-Motherboard functionality is now available across SGI's Rackable server lines, including its Foundation and CloudRack series.

"Diverse industries, including oil and gas, financial services, engineering, and research and education, are eagerly deploying HPC solutions to increase operational performance," said Giovanni Coglitore, senior vice president and chief products officer at SGI. "Our upgraded Rackable servers are optimized to manage a complex workflow and allow applications to attain high performance without the I/O bottlenecks associated with higher latency and lower bandwidth solutions."

Core features of the expanded Rackable x86 server lines include:

Dual QSFP InfiniBand/Ethernet ports at up to 40 Gb/s with support for both Microsoft Windows HPC Server 2008 and Linux operating systems.
Intel Xeon 5500 series "Nehalem" processors, including the top-bin W5580 running at 3.2GHz.
Large memory capability with up to 96GB of ECC registered DDR3 DIMMs.
Power optimized with over 90 percent voltage regulator module efficiency on the server board, which perfectly complements SGI's up-to-96.5 percent-efficient power supplies.
Higher I/O configurations with expanded numbers of expansion slots with support for Fibre Channel HBAs and other cards.
Support for Mellanox, Voltaire and Qlogic switches, making Rackable servers ideal for HPC clusters.

"Rackable servers with Mellanox ConnectX Landed-on-Motherboard provide a superior connectivity solution for high-performance computing," said John Monson, vice president of marketing at Mellanox Technologies. "The combination of SGI's new Rackable servers and Mellanox's virtual protocol interconnect, supporting both 40Gb/s InfiniBand and 10Gb Ethernet, enables users to achieve better return on their compute resources by delivering higher efficiency and system utilization."

Availability

SGI servers with on-board InfiniBand interconnect technology are available immediately.

About SGI

SGI (NASDAQ:SGI) is a global leader in large-scale clustered computing, high-performance storage, HPC and datacenter enablement and services. SGI is dedicated to solving the IT industry's most demanding business and technology challenges. Visit www.sgi.com for more information.

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Source: SGI

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