Product Watch: New Visualization Tool For Oil/Gas Industry. Dot Hill Delivers Software Tools. Infortrend Ships EonRAID 2000.

August 11, 2000

SHORT TAKES

NEW VISUALIZATION TOOL FOR THE OIL/GAS INDUSTRY

Calgary, ALBERTA — Real Time Visualization, a division of Mitsubishi Electric & Electronics USA Inc., Template Graphics Software (TGS), Seismic Micro-Technology, Inc. (SMT) and IBM announced a breakthrough in high performance graphics for the oil and gas industry. In the past, the high cost of multi-million dollar visualization rooms restricted this technology to just a few multinationals. Now, oil and gas professionals can take advantage of large-scale visualization using the price and performance advantages of personal computers. This innovative package includes software and specialized volume-rendering hardware on a high-performance IBM IntelliStation PC, integrated with the latest visualization capabilities, to deliver an integrated platform for advanced geoscience analysis and interpretation. In essence, it presents a workstation tool to geoscientists used for interpreting large-scale, three-dimensional seismic data sets at a faster, real-time rate to target seismic applications.

This new solution offers a graphics package for visualizing large seismic volumes along with geophysical, geological and petrophysical data and interpretation. Seismic reflection cubes of earth are displayed as three-dimensional interactive computer images which are manipulated and analyzed to develop a realistic model of the earth’s geology. When seismic reflection cubes are displayed over an oil and gas reservoir, the trajectories of boreholes are also drawn three dimensionally. In this way, the orientation, size and characteristics of a reservoir is revealed in relation to both current hydrocarbon production and regional geology. This greatly advances resource management. RTViz introduced the first 3D voxel-based hardware graphics board capable of rendering large volume data sets. VolumePro, the PCI board developed by RTViz, works in conjunction with TGS’s Open Inventor 2.6 software. TGS has built Open Inventor on top of the industry standard OpenGL graphics language for sophisticated graphics applications. With the increased complexity of 3D seismic interpretation, the need to improve user productivity becomes even more critical. Data sets continue to expand in size, complexity and density. Along with this expansion comes the need to search, identify, quantify and fully interpret both routine structural shapes and detailed seismic attributes. The power of the VolumePro 500 PCI board, available with up to 256MB of volume memory on a single board, allows interactive support of these important functions. Multiple boards can work together to store a minimum of twice as much volume data. Visit http://www.rtviz.com or http://www.tgs.com for more information.

DOT HILL DELIVERS STATE-OF-THE-ART SOFTWARE TOOLS

Carlsbad, CA — Dot Hill Systems Corp. announced exciting enhancements to its suite of storage area network (SAN) management software applications SANpath 3.1 and SANscape 2.3. SANpath 3.1 now delivers dynamic LUN assignment, an advanced timesaving capability that dynamically allocates and re-allocates server storage resources “on the fly” without interrupting critical applications. SANpath 3.1 also adds Linux, HP-UX, and Windows 2000 to its list of supported platforms. SANscape 2.3 is now even more tightly integrated with SANpath and provides IT Managers with an intuitive, easy-to-use “drag & drop” user interface for managing storage allocation operations, and also adds HP-UX, Linux, Windows 2000 and Netware to its list of supported platforms. Both applications work with Dot Hill’s carrier-class SANnet storage solutions to enhance performance, simplify storage management, and protect against component failures. Availability for both releases is expected in mid August 2000.

When used together, SANpath and SANscape provide a nearly seamless SAN management environment. With the new releases, IT Managers can dynamically change and manage critical storage resources without interrupting business operations. In the past, “scheduled” and often costly downtime was required to allocate or re-allocate storage resources to servers. Now, IT Managers can grow or change storage resources on servers in their Storage Area Networks without taking servers or critical applications off-line. For example, Interactive Telesis Inc. (ITI), a premier hosting facility for speech-enabled applications, uses SANpath and SANscape to manage storage in its highly mission-critical environment. “With so many resources to monitor, the simplicity and power of SANpath and SANscape make managing our storage a breeze,” said Dennis Wenger, ITI’s Director of Information Technology. “The drag & drop capability of the new releases will add even more value to an already user-friendly interface.” “Businesses are constantly looking for ways to reduce the complexity of managing critical storage resources without jeopardizing service levels to customers” said Dana Kammersgard, Dot Hill’s Chief Technology Officer, “With the new releases of SANpath and SANscape, IT managers can easily and quickly manage critical resources while virtually eliminating downtime, and that translates into direct bottom-line savings. In addition, our commitment to providing open solutions helps our customers maximize their platform investments allowing them more flexibility in the future.”

INFORTREND SHIPS EONRAID 64-BIT FIBRE RAID CONTROLLER

Santa Rosa, CA — Infortrend Corporation, a leading manufacturer of high performance RAID controllers, announced that it is now shipping the 64-bit extreme performance EonRAID 2000 Fibre to Fibre RAID controller. The EonRAID 2000 is the performance champion among RAID controllers. With the help of a high performance 64-bit RISC PowerPC CPU and dual Infortrend sophisticated RAID ASIC’s, I/O’s are rapidly processed and distributed to array hard drives. Data is transferred between host and drive through a high-speed 64-bit data path at a burst rate of 533 MB/sec. The result is a controller which excels in applications that require high sustained data rates and I/O turnaround, without compromising fault-tolerance and data availability.

This 5.25″ half-height controller is available with either six Fibre channels (EonRAID 2000-6) or four Fibre channels plus two Ultra2 channels (EonRAID 2000-4). Each Fibre channel can be defined as either a drive or host channel. Configuration options are RAID levels 0, 1, (0+1), 3, 5, 10, 30, 50, and NRAID (JBOD). The EonRAID 2000 provides automatic drive failure detection and bad sector reassignment. It supports active-active redundancy with a synchronous write-back cache. The controller itself is hot-swappable for full non-stop operation. Battery backup is available to protect any data in the write-back cache from sudden power interruptions. A board-only solution available for OEM’s. Infortrend Fibre products have all the necessary protocols for SAN applications. This includes facilities for LUN filtering, also known as SAN mapping or masking, and global file system (GFS) Dlocks. It has advanced functions for setting different types of data protection from local back-up to full disaster-tolerant remote redundant systems. Visit http://www.infortrend.com for more information.

INTEL INTRODUCES FAMILY OF ETHERNET TRANSCEIVERS

Sacramento, CA — Intel today introduced a complete family of “Carrier Class” Ethernet transceivers, including Gigabit Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, and Ethernet transceivers, capable of operating under the harsh conditions of existing telecommunications networks. The Carrier Class Ethernet family supports the extended temperature range, network integrity and long-term availability needed by telecommunications service providers as they address the rapid convergence of telecommunications and data networking by adding Ethernet support to their networks. “E-Business and voice/data convergence are driving up expectations for Internet protocol over Ethernet. Carriers will require high-performance Ethernet solutions that are consistently reliable and compatible,” said David Willis, program director for Global Networking Strategies at META Group.

The Carrier Class Ethernet family of products includes the LXT1000, a new single-port 10/100/1000 BASE-T Gigabit-over-copper Ethernet Transceiver; the LXT9784, a new eight-port 10/100 BASE-TX Ethernet Transceiver; the LXT971, a new single-port 10/100 BASE-TX Ethernet Transceiver; and the LXT905, a 10 BASE-T Ethernet Transceiver that is already shipping in volume quantities. Telecommunications and networking equipment providers are increasingly using Ethernet as a connection technology both within and between systems. In addition, as IP traffic moves further into the wide area network, telecommunications equipment will need to support this traffic, and Ethernet is the preferred choice. However, this equipment requires components that can withstand the harsh operating conditions in which these systems must operate. Components targeted at this emerging market segment must withstand temperatures from frigid cold to desert heat and compensate for poor installation, noisy environments, and sub-standard equipment that may already be installed in the network. In addition, these components must be able to handle a cable discharge event (CDE), which often occurs when a large amount of energy stored on a cable is discharged into newly connected networking equipment. When CDE occurs, the system may be damaged, requiring an expensive service call to replace or repair it. To address these issues, Intel’s Carrier Class transceivers have been designed to operate in an extended temperature range from -40 degrees Celsius to 85 degrees Celsius. These transceivers are able to transmit and receive data farther than called for in the current IEEE specification, which helps compensate for poor installation and substandard equipment. The extra operating distance also allows network designers to better utilize expensive equipment and layout. The Carrier Class family of Ethernet Transceivers has also been designed to withstand CDE, reducing the chance of damage in harsh environments.

LUCENT ANNOUNCES GIGABIT-PER-SECOND CIRCUIT

Allentown, PA — Lucent Technologies Microelectronics Group announced a billion-bit-per-second, or gigabit-per-second, read/write preamplifier integrated circuit – a key electronic component of hard disk drives for computer data storage. By offering these speeds, which surpass those of current industry products by some 33 percent, Lucent will accelerate the development of faster, higher-capacity disk drives to store the vast amounts of text, graphics, audio and images that move across the Internet. Lucent, an industry leader in preamplifiers, read-channel ICs and control circuitry for hard disk drives, will offer gigabit-per-second performance with its new VM8200 differential read/write preamplifier, designed by engineers at the company’s Twin Cities Business and Technology Center in Bloomington, Minn. Preamplifiers boost the strength of signals read off a disk drive’s magnetic platters for processing by read-channel ICs, which convert those signals into digital data. Preamplifiers also generate signals from digital data that get written onto the magnetic platters.

Lucent established its Twin Cities Business and Technology Center earlier this year when it acquired the products and the design, marketing and sales teams of VTC Inc., a leader in analog semiconductors for the hard-drive industry. “Disk drive makers are under constant pressure to deliver faster, higher-capacity drives at lower prices,” said Mark Granahan, general manager of the Analog Products Business in Lucent’s Microelectronics Group. “By providing this performance breakthrough in a preamplifier, our Analog Storage Group makes it possible for disk drive makers to increase the operating speed of their hard drives. This in-turn makes it possible for computers to store and retrieve data more quickly and cope with the burgeoning size and amount of files that Internet host sites and users deal with daily.” The VM8200 preamplifier achieves its breakthrough gigabit-per-second operation with an impedance-matched writing architecture. This matches the preamp’s characteristics with the signal path to the read/write head, thus narrowing the write current’s pulse width to provide faster magnetic transition and recovery in the read/write head. This design technique allows Lucent to provide gigabit-per-second preamp performance without compromising reliability. Lucent is offering sample quantities of the VM8200 preamplifier in October, with production ramping in 2001 to meet customer needs. Visit http://www.lucent.com for more information.

DESKTOP RUNS WINDOWS AND LINUX SIMULTANEOUSLY

Union City, CA — Pogo Linux announced that it has finalized an agreement with VMware, Inc. to bundle and preconfigure VMware’s desktop software with a Pogo Linux desktop system. The new offering, appropriately named the “Winux System”, will allow traditional Windows users to enjoy the power and stability of Linux on the desktop without sacrificing the convenience and popularity of Windows applications. The system is based on the Intel Pentium 3 architecture and RedHat’s Linux distribution, and, using VMware’s software, will allow the user to run Microsoft Windows 98 in a VMware virtual machine. The Winux computer will enable the user to run traditional Windows applications such as Microsoft Office while using Linux at the same time. These systems are very attractive to Windows users who have hesitated in converting to Linux because of the lack of commercial Linux software. Winux systems will also offer better stability to Windows users because if Windows crashes in a VMware virtual machine, it will not crash the entire computer. In that scenario, the user simply reboots the VMware virtual machine and continues to work in Windows.

“VMware has worked hard to perfect the virtual machine technology, and we believe Pogo’s experience and knowledge of hardware makes them a great partner to distribute our technology into the Linux hardware channel,” said Reza Malekzadeh, Director of Marketing at VMware. Additionally, Winux systems will be able to increase developer productivity by giving the user two operating systems in one hardware solution. For example, Linux users will be able to utilize the Winux system to develop software in Linux, and then test the end product in Windows. “By combining the hardware expertise of Pogo Linux and the robust virtual machine technology from VMware means that the Winux system has much to offer to an end-user who desires one solution to bridge Windows and Linux together,” said Erik Logan, Pogo’s Senior Vice President. “We also opted to use Intel and RedHat, leaders of their respective industries, in the Winux solution to ensure our customers the highest quality and assurance of performance.” Winux systems can be purchased through Pogo’s website: http://www.pogolinux.com .

STORMIX INTRODUCES STORM LINUX 2000

Vancouver, BRITISH COLUMBIA — Stormix Technologies Inc., the Linux for Networks company, announces the launch of Storm Linux 2000 Starter Edition. The Storm Linux 2000 Starter Edition provides Windows users who want to try Linux with a full featured, easy-to-install distribution at a low cost. This new product is intended for people who want to easily access the power of Linux without an abundance of third party software. This edition is also ideal for advanced Linux users who are interested in a top-quality distribution and the ability to customize it themselves. David Talmor, President & CEO of Stormix Technologies Inc., said, “There are people who want to join the Linux revolution, but have no idea where to start. This is a great introduction to Linux for them. We offer a free download version at our website ( http://www.stormix.com ), but most people prefer the convenience of having a distribution complete with the CD-ROM, installation guide, and support for only US$19.95.”

The Storm Linux 2000 Starter Edition is the first member of the Storm Linux 2000 family based on the highly regarded Debian/GNU Linux 2.2 “Potato” release. Bundled in the Starter Edition are the essentials to get users up and running in Linux: PartitionMagic Linux Prep Tool by Powerquest, Netscape Communicator 4.73 and Sun StarOffice 5.2 productivity suite.

MOTOROLA AND LUCENT USE STARCORE TECHNOLOGY

San Diego, CA — The StarCore Technology Center continues to deliver on their development schedule for DSP core technology and baseline software development tools. The technology center announced last December the availability of silicon for their first DSP core, the StarCore SC140, and the Beta release of the supporting DSP C compiler, assembler, linker and simulator. For more information on the StarCore alliance and resulting DSP technology, visit http://www.starcore-dsp.com . The momentum continues with the production release of the SC100 baseline development tools this month. These best-in-class baseline tools are featured in visual integrated development environments (IDEs) provided by Lucent and Motorola in support of their specific StarCore SC140 based chip products.

The combination of the SC100 architecture and advanced DSP compiler continue deliver exceptional results. For example, when compiling ITU standard ‘C’ code for both the AMR and EFR vocoders, the StarCore SC140 produces code that requires one-half of the number of cycles to execute with one-third less code than the nearest DSP competitor. The scalability of the StarCore SC140 is demonstrated in the recent system-on-chip (SOC) announcements from Motorola and Lucent Technologies. Lucent announced the StarPro 2000 with three SC140 DSP cores, for infrastructure and server class equipment. More information on StarPro 2000 can be found at http://www.lucent.com/micro/starpro .

VIKING COMPONENTS SHIPPING MEMORY KITS FOR IBM

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA — Viking Components, one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing manufacturers of OEM and upgrade component technology, is now shipping 4 GB capacity upgrade kits for the IBM RS/6000 M80 server and 1 GB capacity upgrade kits for the IBM RS/6000 H80 and F80 servers. The Viking 4 GB upgrade kit allows users to increase the memory capacity of the M80 to a maximum of 32 GB, while the H80 and F80 servers can be expanded to a maximum memory capacity of 16 GB with the Viking 1 GB upgrade kit.

“Viking high-capacity memory upgrade kits provide increased performance to meet the critical requirements of our enterprise customers running high-end solutions like business-to-business applications, enterprise resource planning and supply chain management,” said Matthew Baldy, Viking director of global enterprise solutions. Viking is also shipping memory upgrade kits in capacities ranging from 256 MB to 1 GB for the RS/6000 44P Model 170 and 270 workstation and server series. The RS/6000 family is based on AIX, IBM’s UNIX operating environment, and RISC technology, and is designed to serve a range of business and IT needs, from powerful desktop workstations to sophisticated systems. Viking products include SDRAM, DDR, Rambus, and EDO memory modules; CompactFlash, SmartMedia and ATA PC Cards; IntelliFlash USB flash memory reader/writer; internal and external modems including USB, PCI and ISA; and PC Card modems.

BAKBONE SOFTWARE DEBUTS SERVICE CENTER

San Diego, CA — BakBone Software announced the formation of its world-class technical support centers, designed to provide unparalleled assistance to its customers, including live-time response in as little as 15 minutes. This announcement comes two days after BakBone formally launched its NetVault storage management software throughout North America. NetVault features the ability to easily manage the most intensive backup, restore and archiving functions across a wide range of computer platforms. NetVault’s scalable, advanced modular architecture operates across distributed heterogeneous client/server and multi-user environments, and is designed for the emerging generation of network storage applications, such as storage area networks (SANs).

BakBone said it will staff customer support centers around the globe in a “follow the sun” approach, helping to ensure a rapid, personalized response to customers who require technical assistance. “We are committed to building the kind of organization that will provide companies with the absolute highest level of support,” said Tim Miller, BakBone’s Director, Client Services. He noted BakBone’s focus on “knowledge engineering,” stating that BakBone will work to resolve any situation once, and immediately making that information available to other BakBone customers, in order to maximize uptime and provide a higher level of service. Miller cited BakBone’s proactive corporate philosophy of working with clients, saying, “We have made it a point of differentiation that we partner to prevent issues. If a customer contacts us with an issue, we will work to resolve that issue immediately, regardless of the cause.” Jack Corrao, BakBone’s President and Chief Operating Officer, echoed Miller’s comments, adding, “We are out to establish a higher level of service at BakBone throughout a customer’s entire experience with us. A better service experience is a tangible way we can demonstrate our commitment.”

CYPRESS UNVEILS 0.15-MICRON TECHNOLOGY

San Jose, CA — Cypress Semiconductor announced that its new 0.15-micron RAM7 process technology has achieved functional silicon of the world’s smallest 8 Mbit SRAM. With an innovative cell size of only 2.9 square microns, the new 8 Mbit, low-power SRAM is an industry-leading 20 square millimeters. The geometric reduction to 0.15 micron yields twice the die of Cypress’s volume-production 0.25 micron technology. Cypress began high-volume production in 1996 of its patented high-speed, low-power six-transistor (6T) cell at 0.5 micron (RAM3). 6T cells have subsequently become the industry standard. Cypress’s investment in process technology research and development has consistently paid off since then. Cypress has optically shrunk its original 6T cell approximately every 20 months: 0.35 micron (RAM4) in 1997, 0.25 micron (RAM5) in 1999 and 0.2 micron (RAM6) earlier this year.

“Once again Cypress has been successful in shrinking its line widths,” said Jose Arreola, Cypress vice president of research and development. “It is noteworthy that we achieved working prototypes in first silicon, with good yields. We anticipate high volume production using the RAM7 process in the first half of 2001.” RAM7 is being implemented in Cypress’s Fab 4C in Bloomington, Minn. In addition to the 8Mbit SRAM, over 10 products are currently in design and will achieve first silicon this year. These products include specialty and other communication-oriented memories intended to continue Cypress’s support for communications customers such as Lucent, Nortel, Cisco, and 3COM. Plans are also on track to rapidly convert existing products to the RAM7 process over the course of 2001. Visit http://www.cypress.com for more information.

NSF-FUNDED SOFTWARE HELPS PUT MATH ON THE WEB

Everything mathematical – from Einstein’s equations to algorithms for three-dimensional visualizations – can now be more easily displayed on the World Wide Web, thanks to software developed with NSF support. WebEQ, a suite of computer applications for displaying and editing mathematical equations, was developed by researchers at the University of Minnesota’s Geometry Center. Originally developed to help scientists communicate mathematics over the Internet, the software has become popular as a teaching aid for demonstrating mathematical concepts such as calculus and string theory. It is now being marketed by Design Science, Inc.

“As a research project WebEQ found applications all over the world, but the real success of WebEQ is one of technology transfer,” said Robert Miner, who led the development of WebEQ and now works for Design Science. “For a technology to make a significant difference, it needs to enter the market, and WebEQ has achieved that step.” For more information, see http://www.webeq.com .

INTEL DEBUTS E-BUSINESS SERVER PROGRAM

Santa Clara, CA — Intel Corporation announced the Intel e-Business Server Program, an initiative to train and educate system integrators, value-added resellers, dealers, and Web consultants on how to recommend the proper e-Business server solutions to their small and medium-sized business customers. “The channel is looking for direction as they help their customers prepare for e-Business,” said Mark Beckford, marketing manager for Intel’s Server Channel Marketing. “There’s been a huge growth for servers because of the explosion of e-Commerce, yet many businesses are still using inadequate equipment to meet their e-Business needs.” Under the Intel e-Business Server Program, Intel will give resellers configuration tools (such as Web-based sizing guides, server integration tips, and recommendations to maximize server performance, scalability, and availability), e-Business server technical training (including both Web-based and face-to-face server integration and optimization training), and sales and marketing support (such as pass-through brochures and success stories) to build and sell high-performance e-Business servers.

“Servers are the foundation of the Internet economy,” said Beckford. “Yet some businesses are still using desktop PCs as servers. E-Business, whether it’s simple Web hosting or e-Commerce, requires a server that can stay up 24x7x365 and scale to meet the demands of unpredictable Web traffic. Moreover, the server cannot be the bottleneck – a competitor’s Web site is just a mouse click away. Servers based on Intel server building blocks fit the bill since they have the performance, scalability and reliability to meet the intense demands of e-Business.” Serious Servers for Serious e-Business Research shows that many small and medium-sized businesses rely on local value-added resellers and integrators to provide white-box systems for their server. Often, resellers are configuring desktop PCs to act as the server. A true Intel-based server should contain a Pentium III or Pentium III Xeon processor with an Intel server board, server chassis, network adapters, server RAID cards, and server monitoring capabilities. These server building blocks have been designed from inception with performance, scalability and availability features to support an e-Business solution.

AXIENT COMMUNICATIONS AND EMC TEAM UP

Hopkinton, MASS. — EMC Corporation, a world leader in information storage, and Axient Communications, a premier provider of media-quality Internet experiences and services, today announced they are teaming on a breakthrough Internet content delivery network. On August 7, Axient announced that it has launched OctaneSM ( http://www.axient.com/news/story/story2.htm ), a new media-quality Internet experience which offers full-screen, full-speed, high-resolution video, clear stereo sound and fast text and graphics. The Octane experience is being delivered via Axient’s next-generation network using EMC CLARiiON FC4500 storage systems throughout. Axient is deploying 66 terabytes (66 trillion bytes) of EMC CLARiiON FC4500 storage systems throughout its national network, and has implemented EMC Symmetrix Enterprise Storage for all centralized corporate applications at its Phoenix, Ariz., headquarters. Axient’s network delivers content locally rather than over the congested public Internet. Content is delivered from Axient’s local servers through the access provider’s last-mile router directly to the Internet user. Axient’s network is now operational in 60 metropolitan markets in the continental U.S. and will reach 191 LATAs (local telephone calling areas) in the continental U.S. by early 2001.

“To this point, it has been impossible to deliver streaming content across the Internet with anything approaching media-quality,” said Michael Gordon, CEO of Axient Communications, Inc. “EMC CLARiiON storage systems are a key component in the Axient network’s breakthrough delivery of streaming video and audio content. The combination of EMC Symmetrix and EMC CLARiiON storage gives us a perfect mix of centralized and distributed storage to meet our requirements for data availability and performance across our entire infrastructure. We’ve accelerated the pace of network deployment to ensure we meet Internet users’ insatiable demand for broadband – which has far outpaced the capacity of today’s networks,” said Gordon. “EMC E-Infostructure is central to offering our customers fast, continuous access to high-quality content while rapidly extending our network to reach the continental U.S.”

CALDERA JOINS LINUX-ON-ITANIUM RACE

San Diego, CA — A fourth major Linux seller has released a version of its operating system for Intel’s upcoming Itanium chip. Last week, Caldera posted an early version of its OpenLinux product designed for the Itanium chip, the first member of a 64-bit chip family from Intel designed to compete with Sun Microsystems’ UltraSparc, Hewlett-Packard’s PA-RISC, SGI’s MIPS, IBM’s Power, and Compaq Computer’s Alpha. Intel is heavily backing Linux to become one of three mainstream operating systems for the delayed chip. Under the new schedule, only a test batch of computers running on Itanium chips will come out this year. Systems for commercial consumption will arrive in the first half of 2001.

Microsoft’s 64-bit version of Windows is in a similar state of unreadiness. Microsoft shipped a test version to developers last month. HP, the co-inventor of the IA-64 architecture, also has been backing the Linux-on-Itanium effort. HP Labs’ David Mosberger has led the effort to create a version of Linux for IA-64, and HP has released simulator software that allows programmers with ordinary 32-bit Intel machines to see if their 64-bit software will work. Caldera, with its recent merger announcement with Unix company Santa Cruz Operation, will have a tighter relationship with IA-64 chips than most Linux companies. SCO’s UnixWare, along with IBM’s AIX, is a key component of the “Monterey-64” version of Linux that will run on Itanium.

TOSHIBA EXPANDS M500D SERVER OFFERINGS

Irvine, CA — Continuing to provide leading value and performance to the entry-level, dual-processor server arena, the Computer Systems Group (CSG) of Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. (TAIS) announced new SCSI hot-swap models for the company’s M500D entry-level server series. With prices starting as low as $2,925, Toshiba’s new M500D hot-swap models are equipped with features such as three SCSI hot-swap drive bays, installed 9GB or 18GB SCSI disk drive, a RAID controller, dual Intel Pentium processor capability up to 800MHz, an Integrated 10/100 Ethernet NIC and 128MB high-speed ECC memory expandable to 1GB.

Engineered to deliver top performance and high availability features to cost-sensitive businesses, Toshiba’s M500D server series offers an ideal networking solution for corporate infrastructure and small- to medium-sized businesses looking to purchase a server with two-way processing power, flexible configurations and a great price point. The M500D is certified with Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, Windows NT 4.0, Novell NetWare and Red Hat Linux. For complete product and pricing details, visit Toshiba’s Web site at http://www.toshiba.com .

HITACHI COMPLETES QUALIFICATION OF SANBOX SWITCHES

Santa Clara, CA — Hitachi Data Systems announced it has completed qualification of QLogic’s 8-port and 16-port SANbox Fibre Channel switches for use in the large-scale Storage Area Network (SAN) solutions it develops for customers. The switches are available now from Hitachi Data Systems, which has provided QLogic’s earlier-generation SAN switches to customers since early 1999. Storage Area Networks developed by Hitachi Data Systems reflect the company’s view that switched networks based on Fibre Channel technology are the only practical way for large and medium-size enterprises to achieve the scalability needed to resolve their most vexing storage management problems – such as storage and server consolidation.

The advanced technology in SANbox switches enables users to experience nearly unlimited scalability and flexibility, with almost no deterioration in performance as more and more servers and storage units are added to the network to accommodate ever-increasing volumes of data. Providing an economical pathway for customers to upgrade their SAN configurations from entry-level to enterprise-level, SANbox is the first product in the marketplace that enables users to break out of the limited scalability of Fibre-Channel Arbitrated-Loop (FC-AL) configurations to participate in highly scalable full-fabric switched SANs. “Data storage needs are doubling every nine months, driven by the growth of Internet computing and transaction processing systems like e-commerce,” said Mark Edwards, QLogic’s Sr. Vice President of Computer Systems and Switch Products. “That’s why it makes sense to install a SAN that can scale well beyond a handful of devices and a few terabytes of data. Thanks to QLogic’s Multistage configuration and the lowest switch latency in the industry, our SANbox switches make it easier to grow large, high-performing SANs.”

VISARA SCON-22L IS A REPLACEMENT FOR IBM 3174

Raleigh, N.C. — Visara, Inc. has introduced the SCON-22L console concentrator to provide support for IBM mainframe host environments. The SCON-22L is a direct replacement for the IBM 3174-22L controller and provides tangible benefits as a replacement product. The SCON-22L has been previewed at two Share Conferences this year, and it has been installed at several customer sites worldwide. In addition to providing a direct replacement for aging 3174-22L controllers, the SCON-22L offers unique advantages that cannot be delivered by the 3174 device, including support for multiple logical partitions (LPARs). The SCON-22L will support up to 16 LPARs on an IBM-compatible mainframe. The 3174-22L supports only a single LPAR. This gives users the option of replacing up to 16 3174-22L controllers with a single Visara SCON-22L. This directly translates into savings on acquisition costs, operational costs, and floor space requirements.

“We’re giving users an easy choice,” said Daniel J. Cody, Vice-President of Marketing for Visara, Inc. “They can buy a used 3174-22L, and, since they’re in short supply, they’ll be at the mercy of a high acquisition cost. Their alternative is a new SCON-22L with support for 16 LPARs and 512 logical display sessions. We believe the choice is easy: SCON-22L.” The SCON-22L is used as a console concentrator to configure mainframes in a non-SNA environment. The device uses an ESCON adapter to communicate with IBM-compatible mainframes. Features includes connections for up to 32 coax displays and support for up to 32 Telnet sessions. Support is also provided for a second ESCON adapter as well as optional Ethernet and Token Ring adapters.

SHUGART RELEASES SCSICALC TEST SOFTWARE

Irvine, CA — Shugart Technology, Inc. (STI), a privately held innovator of testing products for data storage networks, announced the release of its SCSIcalc software application for the testing and analysis of SCSI based storage networks. SCSIcalc is a fundamentally new method of data storage testing analysis that automates and simplifies many of the most frequently applied test and analysis protocols. This is in contrast to existing test and analysis methods, which are complicated, time consuming, and require a high level of expertise to operate. “Although storage networks promise superior performance and high data availability, optimizing them remains a Herculean task for network administrators,” said Rick Brechtlein, president and CEO of STI. “The development of test and analysis methods has not kept up with advances in the storage networks themselves. Shugart Technology’s products are designed to change that by making testing quick and easy, while at the same time satisfying the need for sophisticated testing and evaluation.”

SCSIcalc is the second in a series of Shugart Technology test applications, following the recent release of FIBREcalc, an application tailored to Fibre Channel based storage networks. The underlying principle behind SCSIcalc, as well as all other Shugart Technology products, is to automate and simplify testing sufficiently to allow service technicians, without extensive training, to perform the majority of routine testing. This saves time, eliminates many common mistakes, and yields more consistent results, while allowing network administrators more time for evaluation and analysis. SCSIcalc, like FIBREcalc, employs an intuitive, practical, calculator-type interface (Patent Pending). The calculator keys are programmable to user-set commands or sequences of commands. The user simply specifies which parameters are to be logged and subsequently automatically reported in easy to understand language. The most commonly applied applications and protocols are fully automated, resulting in quicker and more consistent testing and analysis. Parameter logging, report generation, and a variety of other time consuming tasks are also automated and the results are reported in an easy to understand format. SCSIcalc is portable across all popular operating systems and hardware platforms. Visit http://www.shugarttech.com for more information.

ADIC DEMONSTRATES NEW SAN SOLUTION

Redmond, WASH. — Advanced Digital Information Corporation (Nasdaq:ADIC) announced at the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) 2000 conference in Calgary, Alberta, that ADIC will provide a live technology demonstration of a new integrated Storage Area Network (SAN) configuration that combines high performance collaborative data sharing with real-time serverless backup. A powerful new solution for managing and protecting large data sets, the ADIC SAN demonstration shows the dramatically increased efficiency and performance that Fibre Channel SANs can bring to high data volume applications, including those used for oil and gas exploration.

The ADIC SAN demonstration combines two leading edge technology advances – collaborative file sharing and serverless backup – into a single, integrated solution. The SAN solution first centralizes all of the data used by four high-performance workstations onto a single, centralized Fibre Channel disk array accessed through a switched fabric. Using CentraVision, ADIC’s SAN file-sharing system, software applications running on all the workstations perform simultaneous analysis on the central data collaboratively, sharing data down to the individual file level at access speeds of up to 100 MB/sec per channel. “The ability to manage collaborative work on shared files represents a major efficiency increase for a wide variety of large-scale data analysis applications, including those used mapping and seismic resource exploration,” explained Bill Britts, ADIC executive vice president of Sales and Marketing. “With multiple workstations able to share files through CentraVision, the power of standard software applications is enhanced by eliminating the need to move files between workstations or to divide the job into separate smaller projects and then reassemble them.”

ADAPTEC TO DEMONSTRATE INFINIBAND TECHNOLOGY

Milpitas, CA — Adaptec, Inc. will demonstrate InfiniBand technology that connects servers to external storage at the Intel Developer Forum, Aug. 22 through Aug. 24, in San Jose, Calif. Adaptec’s early InfiniBand product development efforts, which make use of components from Intel’s Fabric Components Division, further establishes the growing momentum behind the InfiniBand architecture, and helps assure availability of storage solutions in the timeframe that complements the first major OEM InfiniBand server introductions. “We are committed to having InfiniBand I/O solutions available in time for the first major InfiniBand server launches,” said Jim Comstock, vice president for Storage Networking Solutions at Adaptec. “Working with Intel is an important aspect of our being able to meet this goal.”

“InfiniBand architecture represents a watershed event in the server industry,” said Jim Pappas, Director of Initiative Marketing for Intel’s Fabric Components Division. “InfiniBand fabrics deliver a breakthrough in server performance, scalability and availability. Intel looks forward to working with Adaptec to enable development of fabric connections to storage devices.” Adaptec is in a unique position to help the industry develop new InfiniBand storage I/O solutions because of its successful history of providing industry-leading SCSI and RAID I/O solutions. The company brings to the InfiniBand architecture its know-how in developing industry-wide standards, interoperability expertise, and a long history of working closely with server architectures through its partnerships with every major server OEM. Adaptec is a sponsoring member of the InfiniBand Trade Association (IBTA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing and promoting the InfiniBand architecture. Visit http://www.adaptec.com for more information.

ITSERV LAUNCHES WEBPN

Gaithersburg, MD. — ITServ Inc. ( http://www.itserv.com ), a developer of Internet communications solutions, announces the release of WebPN, a platform that allows remote individuals or workgroups over the Internet to exchange files and run web-based applications in a secured environment without the use of proprietary client security software. Running on a centrally-located Microsoft Windows NT Server or Microsoft 2000 Professional, WebPN assumes the security scheme that is configured for the file system in the host server.

From a standard Internet Explorer browser, an authorized WebPN end-user can access, store files, manage directories, and run web-based application files in accordance with the access permission defined in the central server. In addition, WebPN also includes e-mail notification and contact management functions. Authentication is done through a user name and password distributed by the systems administrator. The systems administrator controls the permissions set on each folder; providing users or groups read and write privileges within a folder or file. The Montgomery County (MD) Division of Facilities & Services has been using WebPN in a pilot program since January 2000. The agency has a large number of outside consultants and construction contractors throughout the United States and Australia providing architecture design and construction services for $300 million worth of capital improvement projects throughout the county. Each contractor or consultant group can range from an individual user to a project team within a large firm. “We had an immediate requirement to create a private secured network across the Internet for our contractors and consultants to work with our internal staff,” said Paul Tseng, Chief of Facilities Engineering and Management Services. “Compared to conventional virtual private networking or other ASP solutions and services, WebPN is priced significantly less, has lower deployment costs, and minimal training costs since everything is done from the Internet Explorer. It makes a cost-effective solution for us,” said Tseng.

PTC ANNOUNCES CADDS 5I RELEASE 11

Waltham, MASS. — PTC, a leading provider of Collaborative Product Commerce (CPC) solutions, announced the latest version of its widely used mechanical computer-aided design (MCAD) suite, CADDS 5i Release 11. CADDS 5i Release 11 includes a significant number of customer-driven enhancements, including increased integration with Pro/ENGINEER and other PTC solutions. CADDS 5i, in conjunction with PTC’s Pro/ENGINEER, is relied on by many of the world’s largest discrete manufacturing companies for the design and engineering of airplanes, ships, automobiles and other products. “Once again PTC is showing its commitment to its valued CADDS 5i customers with another high quality and comprehensive release,” said Jon Stevenson, executive vice president and general manager, MCAD at PTC. “Today’s manufacturing organizations rely more on powerful software solutions to drive collaboration, increase product innovation and decrease time-to-market. PTC’s solutions provide the most productive environment for thousands of engineers to simultaneously engineer, document, assemble, validate and machine the same product design – allowing engineers to collaborate during every step of the design process.”

CADDS 5i uses PTC’s patent-pending Associative Topology Bus (ATB) technology to enable intelligent design sharing across different software applications and the entire development process. This new revision delivers bi-directional associative sharing of 3D-design information between different CAD systems, both PTC’s and those from other vendors – providing organizations with the flexibility to use a variety of technologies to best meet their individual business needs. This latest release also includes significant improvements to allow changes to more complex designs, faster drafting, hidden-line tools and new functionality in manufacturing. CADDS 5i Interactive Surface Design, first available with Release 9, features extended lofting and surface analysis capabilities. This release also delivers full concurrent assembly mock-up (CAMU) support across both UNIX and Windows NT environments, allowing customers to mix and match platforms.

VA LINUX UNVEILS SUPPORT FOR OPEN SOURCE

Sunnyvale, CA — VA Linux Systems, Inc., an expert provider of Linux and Open Source solutions for the Web, announced the availability of a new suite of packaged services and support for Open Source software, provided through VA Linux Professional Services. VA Linux Professional Services will be offering its Open Source Software Support and Maintenance Program for applications such as Apache, the most widely used web server software on the Internet; Squid, a high-performance web caching server; Linux Virtual Server (LVS), load-balancing software for Web and ftp servers; and Heartbeat, high-availability software for clusters.

“With more companies making Open Source software a strategic part of their e-business infrastructure, it’s essential that mission-critical applications such as Apache and Squid receive the support and service levels they deserve,” said Marty Larsen, director of professional services, VA Linux Systems. “VA Linux Professional Services is offering ongoing access to its expertise to make VA’s customers successful with Open Source software.” The Open Source Software Support and Maintenance Program complements the VA Linux ISP JumpStart Program, which was launched in May of this year to assist companies in the planning, design and implementation of their Internet infrastructure solutions. Support and maintenance offerings provide customers with direct access to VA’s Level Two and Three support teams, identification of performance upgrades and fixes, and other services. Additional information on consulting services provided by VA Linux is available at http://www.valinux.com .

RAMTRON UNIT UNVEILS HIGH-SPEED SDRAM

Colorado Springs, COLO. — Enhanced Memory Systems, Inc. and Mushkin Inc., subsidiaries of Ramtron International Corporation, announced the next generation of the Enhanced high-speed SDRAM (HSDRAM) DIMM modules. The new modules operate at CAS2 latency and enable high-end gaming customers to boost the memory bus speed of the Intel 815E chipset to 150 MHz and beyond resulting in a superior gaming experience. “Our new modules accelerate the performance of current PC100 and PC133 SDRAM motherboards used in high-performance PC systems,” said David Bondurant, vice president of marketing and applications for Enhanced Memory Systems. “Enhanced Memory Systems continues to offer the fastest and lowest-latency DIMM modules for over-clocked PC systems, and we’re excited that Intel has embraced the superior performance of PC133 memory in their new 815E chipset.”

The Enhanced Memory Systems HSDRAM is a higher-performance version of the industry standard PC133 SDRAM. The new HSDRAM specifies operation at 150 MHz clock rate with 2:3:2 latency and an improved clock access time of 4.5 ns. The first memory module to be specified at 150 MHz with CAS2 latency, the Enhanced HSDRAM DIMM module can push ASUS CUSL2 motherboards using Intel’s 815E chipset to memory bus speeds as high as 166 MHz with 2:3:2 latency. The new module is the most recent addition to the company’s PC133 HSDRAM product family, which offers both high-speed synchronous DRAM and high-density synchronous DRAM for systems requiring the best memory available. Enhanced Memory Systems develops and markets patented EDRAM and ESRAM high-performance specialty memories that combine fast DRAM and SRAM on one chip. Enhanced Memory Systems is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., and is a subsidiary of Ramtron International Corporation. Infineon Technologies recently acquired 20 percent of Enhanced in return for advanced technology wafer capacity and DRAM design technology. Visit Enhanced Memory Systems on the Web at http://www.edram.com .

OVERLAND BRINGS SCALABLE AIT STORAGE TO LINUX

San Diego, CA — Overland Data Inc., a technology leader in tape backup products, announced that its AIT LibraryPro enterprise tape library has been certified by Knox Software as compatible with Knox’s Arkeia network backup software for Linux and other platforms. Certification for the LibraryPro followed extensive testing and benchmarking by Knox engineers, earning the tape library a coveted spot on Knox’s Recommended List of tape storage devices capable of taking full advantage of Arkeia. The two companies announced that Knox’s Arkeia enterprise network backup and recovery software is now certified for operation with the LibraryPro, giving Linux users a powerful, scalable data protection solution that can be configured to meet the needs of any organization – from the table top to the data center – and provides investment protection as a customer’s storage requirements grow.

The Linux market has rapidly become a key OS platform, particularly for storage intensive Internet-based businesses. According to International Data Corp., Linux shipments represent 17 percent of the market for server operating systems, making it a prime opportunity for innovative storage solutions such as the Overland-Knox package. “The dramatic success of the Linux market has created a demand for the same robust, scalable backup storage solutions that Overland has consistently delivered to UNIX and NT users,” said Steve Richardson, Vice President of Marketing at Overland. “Knox Software has a proven record of delivering high- powered backup software to the Linux community and the combination of Arkeia and LibraryPro creates an extremely reliable and attractive package for Linux users.” Visit http://www.arkeia.com for more information.

TRUESAN NETWORKS ENHANCES SANDESIGNER

San Jose, CA — TrueSAN Networks, a leading provider of enterprise storage networking systems, software, and services, announced enhancements to SANdesigner, the company’s exclusive web-based SAN configuration and management tool. SANdesigner simplifies the complexities of implementing a storage network with intuitive Internet software that enables end-users to rapidly design complete storage-area network solutions online in minutes. SANdesigner, which received sensational user acceptance since its introduction earlier this year, allows users to visually prototype storage-area network implementations on the Web. After indicating the current applications and existing network environment, the user can drag and drop SAN components in a graphical user interface to form a visual diagram of the storage network. SANdesigner assists the user throughout the process by intelligently configuring the SAN in real-time based on storage networking principles.

The enhanced version of SANdesigner, available immediately at http://www.truesan.com , adds several new features for automating robust SAN implementation design. “SANdesigner helps enterprise customers design comprehensive storage networks on the Internet while mitigating excessive professional services fees associated with the storage assessment process,” stated Thomas Isakovich, President and CEO. “SANdesigner helps show users the value of SANs while accelerating their integration into a variety of real-world environments. The continued evolution of SANdesigner, based on extensive customer feedback, provides the cornerstone of a complete web-based user interface which will revolutionize SAN acquisition and management.”

SAFESTONE TECHNOLOGIES RELEASES SUPERCYPHER

Princeton, N.J. — SafeStone Technologies, a developer of enterprise IT security and management software, announced the release of SuperCypher, a 1024-bit encryption tool for use on multiple applications across multiple platforms. SuperCypher enables e-commerce and all internal transactions to be conducted securely, and protects intellectual property from tampering. SuperCypher allows users to encipher or decipher 20MB of data in less than five seconds. This allows any data transactions to remain secure without compromising sensitive data and transaction speed. Files of all types, including backup files and tapes, are pass key protected for use only by the file’s rightful owner.

“SuperCypher is the next phase in a long line of software security products allowing users full control when managing their network security,” said John Todd, CEO of SafeStone. “We are continuing our effort to provide encryption and security management products that provide our customers a high level of comfort by ensuring enterprise confidentiality. SuperCypher ensures secure e-commerce transactions, and enables the safe flow of data between multiple parties.” SuperCypher runs on multiple platforms, including the AS/400, WindowsNT, UNIX, LINUX, and AIX, and can be used on multiple applications. Marnie Threapleton, VP of SafeStone adds, “Organizations concerned with protecting their data are demanding encryption for both major business and user applications. These range from encrypting data on the ever-growing number of mobile laptop computers, which are open to theft or loss, to security and confidentiality conscious departments such as legal and accounting, to the back up of a company’s data which could give away the slightest competitive advantage or be costly to reproduce due to tampering. The benefits of encryption are endless and will be second nature within any secure environment.” For additional information, please visit http://www.safestone.com .

RAINDROP GEOMAGIC ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT WITH NVIDIA

Morrisville, N.C. — Raindrop Geomagic announces an agreement with NVIDIA that will deliver peak performance for Geomagic Studio 3.0 users who demand lifelike 3D modeling and rendering. Geomagic Studio 3.0 is a major new release of Raindrop Geomagic’s software that simplifies and streamlines the process of creating precise 3D computer models for design, engineering, manufacturing, healthcare, 3D web content and other applications. It is scheduled for release this fall. Geomagic Studio 3.0 is written to create displacement, color and texture maps from the precise data (per vertex coordinate frames) required by NVIDIA’s GPUs (graphics processing units). The result is dramatically faster rendering for high-quality, extremely realistic 3D models.

“Our partnership creates a hardware/software solution that steps up visual quality, speed of data acquisition, and rendering to a whole new level,” says Ping Fu, chief technology officer for Raindrop Geomagic. “It’s a perfect match between our award-winning Geomagic products that digitally duplicate the real world and the top-rated graphics performance of NVIDIA’s GPUs.” “Raindrop is known in the industry for removing barriers between the physical and digital worlds,” stated Sanford Russell, senior director of partner management at NVIDIA. “By combining Geomagic Studio 3.0 with NVIDIA’s family of high-performance GPUs, developers have the ability to save time, improve quality and reduce overall cost with the ultimate digital duplication solution.” Visit http://www.nvidia.com or http://www.geomagic.com for more information.

RAIDION SYSTEMS INTRODUCES RAIDION.VSS

Chanhassen, MINN. — Raidion Systems, a division of Peripheral Technology Group, Inc. a leading provider of SAN (storage area network) products, today introduced Raidion.vss, a new family of products for Networked Storage Management that brings storage systems together in a single, scalable, cost-effective storage resource. The Raidion.vss solution will be showcased at Linux World Expo, Booth 748, August 15 – 17, in San Jose, CA. “With the introduction of Raidion.vss, PTG, Inc. is continuing its’ commitment to meet the rapidly increasing demand for high availability data storage solutions. Raidion.vss allows the connection of any server to Raidion storage or to an existing storage system,” according to Jason Hall, Raidion Systems Vice President of Product Development. In June, Raidion Systems and DataCore Software, an innovator in storage area networking software, announced a partnership to integrate network solutions (networked data management), setting the stage for Raidion.vss, which further reduces storage costs and creates an easy-to-install and manage heterogeneous storage system.

Raidion.vss consists of two key elements. Raidion.vss solution, which includes the enterprise hardware base with high-performance cache with DataCore’s SANsymphony data management software; and a Connection Kit with the Fibre Channel interface cards and connection software. The Raidion.vss solution provides the ability to allocate storage resources connected to the SAN to any server on an as-needed basis, thus utilizing storage more efficiently. Due to the increased ease of storage allocation and backup, most data centers will find they can manage more storage per person, resulting in an accelerated return on investment. Raidion.vss also applies the high data transfer speeds afforded by the Fibre Channel SAN along with cache built into the storage pool to provide very rapid access and high performance. Backup window is virtually eliminated using the Point-In-Time snapshot option. Backup is also more efficient due to Fibre Channel’s 100 MB/second speeds, and because each environment in the pool of storage is backed up. Visit http://www.raidionsystems.com or http://www.datacoresoftware.com for more information.

SENTINELRAID 2000R CONTROLLERS NOW IN PRODUCTION

Santa Rosa, CA — Infortrend Corporation, a leading manufacturer of high performance RAID controllers, announced the production release of the 64-bit SentinelRAID 2000R full-height integrated redundant controllers. Three controller models in the SentinelRAID 2000R series allow the user to choose the desired combination of SCSI or Fibre channels. The SentinelRAID 2000R1 offers three Ultra2 channels, the SentinelRAID 2000R2 offers four Ultra2 channels, and the SAN-ready SentinelRAID 2000R3 offers two Ultra2 and two Fibre channels. Each SCSI channel can be defined as either a drive or host channel. Supported RAID levels include 0, 1, (0+1), 3, 5, 10, 30, 50, and NRAID (JBOD).

The controllers support active-active redundancy with a synchronized write-back cache. Other capabilities include automatic drive failure detection, background rebuilding, and bad sector reassignment. The controllers are hot-swappable for full non-stop operation, and a battery back-up option is available for cache protection during a power loss. A board-only solution is available for OEM’s. Infortrend is an industry-leading ISO 9001 certified manufacturer of high performance RAID controllers, including PCI, SCSI, and Fibre. Since its founding in 1992, Infortrend has excelled in developing leading-edge storage solutions, which provide exceptional levels of performance and fault tolerance, in addition to cost-effectiveness. The wide range of features available on Infortrend controllers creates exceptional flexibility, providing the user with multiple configuration options. Infortrend Corporation is headquartered in Santa Rosa, California and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Infortrend Technology, Inc. in Taiwan. For additional information, visit Infortrend’s Web site at http://www.infortrend.com .

TURBOLINUX SHIPS OPERATING SYSTEM

San Francisco, CA — TurboLinux, Inc., the high-performance Linux company, today announced the general availability of TurboLinux DataServer Optimized for Oracle8i. TurboLinux DataServer Optimized for Oracle8i, fully tested and supported by TurboLinux and Oracle to ensure a stable and reliable database, is engineered as a database server for work groups and as a database application deployment platform. “TurboLinux is dedicated to delivering superior enterprise solutions built around Oracle’s industry-leading database and application offerings,” said T. Paul Thomas, president and CEO of TurboLinux. “By developing Linux solutions optimized for Oracle8i, TurboLinux offers customers a secure, stable and scalable platform for developing and deploying mission-critical applications.”

“The developer community is increasingly looking to Linux as the operating system of choice,” said Doug Kennedy, vice president, Intel Division, Oracle. “The TurboLinux DataServer Optimized for Oracle8i is a demonstration of the commitment both Oracle and TurboLinux have to making Linux an enterprise class operating system.” Oracle8i enables organizations to provide superior service to the client-base while streamlining internal processes. Solutions based on Oracle8i provide consistent enterprise-wide financial controls and business rules; deliver sophisticated data and engineering controls; and serve as a stable, scalable platform designed for exponential growth. TurboLinux DataServer for Oracle8i delivers affordable and reliable e-business infrastructure for business-to-business providers with expanding computing requirements. This e-business solution is ideal for dot-coms, small and medium-sized companies and work groups within large companies.

TRIALMASTER 2.0 TO BE USED IN CLINICAL TRIAL

Miami, FLA. — OmniComm Systems, Inc., a developer of e-health information systems and provider of online clinical solutions for the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, announced the start of the first clinical trial in the United States using the TrialMaster 2.0 clinical trials enterprise management application. After its success in Europe, TrialMaster was chosen by the clinical research organization (CRO), J & C Management Co., Inc., for a multi- site clinical trial sponsored by a leading dermatological pharmaceutical company. TrialMaster is providing electronic data capture (EDC) and remote monitoring capabilities through the use of web-based electronic case report forms (e-CRF) developed in conjunction with the CRO, J & C Management.

After evaluating several different clinical trial applications, Clifford Siporin, Ph.D., President of J & C Management chose TrialMaster to provide quicker and more accurate results than traditional paper-based information gathering techniques for the clinical trial process. “I believe that the TrialMaster system will allow me to increase the number of trials that I can effectively manage, while maintaining the quality of the results.” “We are extremely pleased to work with J & C to introduce TrialMaster 2.0 to the clinical industry in the United States,” said Dr. David Ginsberg, CEO of OmniComm, “Electronic Data Capture is the unchallenged future of the clinical trial industry, and OmniComm is well positioned as a technological leader. We intend to remain at the forefront of the revolution in EDC and will continue to provide our customers with first rate service and a superior product.” Visit http://www.omnicomm.com for more information.

============================================================

Subscribe to HPCwire's Weekly Update!

Be the most informed person in the room! Stay ahead of the tech trends with industry updates delivered to you every week!

MLPerf Inference 4.0 Results Showcase GenAI; Nvidia Still Dominates

March 28, 2024

There were no startling surprises in the latest MLPerf Inference benchmark (4.0) results released yesterday. Two new workloads — Llama 2 and Stable Diffusion XL — were added to the benchmark suite as MLPerf continues Read more…

Q&A with Nvidia’s Chief of DGX Systems on the DGX-GB200 Rack-scale System

March 27, 2024

Pictures of Nvidia's new flagship mega-server, the DGX GB200, on the GTC show floor got favorable reactions on social media for the sheer amount of computing power it brings to artificial intelligence.  Nvidia's DGX Read more…

Call for Participation in Workshop on Potential NSF CISE Quantum Initiative

March 26, 2024

Editor’s Note: Next month there will be a workshop to discuss what a quantum initiative led by NSF’s Computer, Information Science and Engineering (CISE) directorate could entail. The details are posted below in a Ca Read more…

Waseda U. Researchers Reports New Quantum Algorithm for Speeding Optimization

March 25, 2024

Optimization problems cover a wide range of applications and are often cited as good candidates for quantum computing. However, the execution time for constrained combinatorial optimization applications on quantum device Read more…

NVLink: Faster Interconnects and Switches to Help Relieve Data Bottlenecks

March 25, 2024

Nvidia’s new Blackwell architecture may have stolen the show this week at the GPU Technology Conference in San Jose, California. But an emerging bottleneck at the network layer threatens to make bigger and brawnier pro Read more…

Who is David Blackwell?

March 22, 2024

During GTC24, co-founder and president of NVIDIA Jensen Huang unveiled the Blackwell GPU. This GPU itself is heavily optimized for AI work, boasting 192GB of HBM3E memory as well as the the ability to train 1 trillion pa Read more…

MLPerf Inference 4.0 Results Showcase GenAI; Nvidia Still Dominates

March 28, 2024

There were no startling surprises in the latest MLPerf Inference benchmark (4.0) results released yesterday. Two new workloads — Llama 2 and Stable Diffusion Read more…

Q&A with Nvidia’s Chief of DGX Systems on the DGX-GB200 Rack-scale System

March 27, 2024

Pictures of Nvidia's new flagship mega-server, the DGX GB200, on the GTC show floor got favorable reactions on social media for the sheer amount of computing po Read more…

NVLink: Faster Interconnects and Switches to Help Relieve Data Bottlenecks

March 25, 2024

Nvidia’s new Blackwell architecture may have stolen the show this week at the GPU Technology Conference in San Jose, California. But an emerging bottleneck at Read more…

Who is David Blackwell?

March 22, 2024

During GTC24, co-founder and president of NVIDIA Jensen Huang unveiled the Blackwell GPU. This GPU itself is heavily optimized for AI work, boasting 192GB of HB Read more…

Nvidia Looks to Accelerate GenAI Adoption with NIM

March 19, 2024

Today at the GPU Technology Conference, Nvidia launched a new offering aimed at helping customers quickly deploy their generative AI applications in a secure, s Read more…

The Generative AI Future Is Now, Nvidia’s Huang Says

March 19, 2024

We are in the early days of a transformative shift in how business gets done thanks to the advent of generative AI, according to Nvidia CEO and cofounder Jensen Read more…

Nvidia’s New Blackwell GPU Can Train AI Models with Trillions of Parameters

March 18, 2024

Nvidia's latest and fastest GPU, codenamed Blackwell, is here and will underpin the company's AI plans this year. The chip offers performance improvements from Read more…

Nvidia Showcases Quantum Cloud, Expanding Quantum Portfolio at GTC24

March 18, 2024

Nvidia’s barrage of quantum news at GTC24 this week includes new products, signature collaborations, and a new Nvidia Quantum Cloud for quantum developers. Wh Read more…

Alibaba Shuts Down its Quantum Computing Effort

November 30, 2023

In case you missed it, China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba has shut down its quantum computing research effort. It’s not entirely clear what drove the change. Read more…

Nvidia H100: Are 550,000 GPUs Enough for This Year?

August 17, 2023

The GPU Squeeze continues to place a premium on Nvidia H100 GPUs. In a recent Financial Times article, Nvidia reports that it expects to ship 550,000 of its lat Read more…

Shutterstock 1285747942

AMD’s Horsepower-packed MI300X GPU Beats Nvidia’s Upcoming H200

December 7, 2023

AMD and Nvidia are locked in an AI performance battle – much like the gaming GPU performance clash the companies have waged for decades. AMD has claimed it Read more…

DoD Takes a Long View of Quantum Computing

December 19, 2023

Given the large sums tied to expensive weapon systems – think $100-million-plus per F-35 fighter – it’s easy to forget the U.S. Department of Defense is a Read more…

Synopsys Eats Ansys: Does HPC Get Indigestion?

February 8, 2024

Recently, it was announced that Synopsys is buying HPC tool developer Ansys. Started in Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1970 as Swanson Analysis Systems, Inc. (SASI) by John Swanson (and eventually renamed), Ansys serves the CAE (Computer Aided Engineering)/multiphysics engineering simulation market. Read more…

Choosing the Right GPU for LLM Inference and Training

December 11, 2023

Accelerating the training and inference processes of deep learning models is crucial for unleashing their true potential and NVIDIA GPUs have emerged as a game- Read more…

Intel’s Server and PC Chip Development Will Blur After 2025

January 15, 2024

Intel's dealing with much more than chip rivals breathing down its neck; it is simultaneously integrating a bevy of new technologies such as chiplets, artificia Read more…

Baidu Exits Quantum, Closely Following Alibaba’s Earlier Move

January 5, 2024

Reuters reported this week that Baidu, China’s giant e-commerce and services provider, is exiting the quantum computing development arena. Reuters reported � Read more…

Leading Solution Providers

Contributors

Comparing NVIDIA A100 and NVIDIA L40S: Which GPU is Ideal for AI and Graphics-Intensive Workloads?

October 30, 2023

With long lead times for the NVIDIA H100 and A100 GPUs, many organizations are looking at the new NVIDIA L40S GPU, which it’s a new GPU optimized for AI and g Read more…

Shutterstock 1179408610

Google Addresses the Mysteries of Its Hypercomputer 

December 28, 2023

When Google launched its Hypercomputer earlier this month (December 2023), the first reaction was, "Say what?" It turns out that the Hypercomputer is Google's t Read more…

AMD MI3000A

How AMD May Get Across the CUDA Moat

October 5, 2023

When discussing GenAI, the term "GPU" almost always enters the conversation and the topic often moves toward performance and access. Interestingly, the word "GPU" is assumed to mean "Nvidia" products. (As an aside, the popular Nvidia hardware used in GenAI are not technically... Read more…

Shutterstock 1606064203

Meta’s Zuckerberg Puts Its AI Future in the Hands of 600,000 GPUs

January 25, 2024

In under two minutes, Meta's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, laid out the company's AI plans, which included a plan to build an artificial intelligence system with the eq Read more…

Google Introduces ‘Hypercomputer’ to Its AI Infrastructure

December 11, 2023

Google ran out of monikers to describe its new AI system released on December 7. Supercomputer perhaps wasn't an apt description, so it settled on Hypercomputer Read more…

China Is All In on a RISC-V Future

January 8, 2024

The state of RISC-V in China was discussed in a recent report released by the Jamestown Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. The report, entitled "E Read more…

Intel Won’t Have a Xeon Max Chip with New Emerald Rapids CPU

December 14, 2023

As expected, Intel officially announced its 5th generation Xeon server chips codenamed Emerald Rapids at an event in New York City, where the focus was really o Read more…

IBM Quantum Summit: Two New QPUs, Upgraded Qiskit, 10-year Roadmap and More

December 4, 2023

IBM kicks off its annual Quantum Summit today and will announce a broad range of advances including its much-anticipated 1121-qubit Condor QPU, a smaller 133-qu Read more…

  • arrow
  • Click Here for More Headlines
  • arrow
HPCwire