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DAILY NEWS AND INFORMATION FOR THE GLOBAL GRID COMMUNITY /
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HP GRID TECH YIELDS UP TO 100 TIMES MORE BANDWIDTH FOR CLUSTERS
HP announced a file sharing product that uses new Linux clustering technology
to deliver up to 100 times more bandwidth than typical clusters. The new
product, HP StorageWorks Scalable File Share (HP SFS), is a self-contained
file server that enables bandwidth to be shared by distributing files in
parallel across clusters of industry-standard server and storage components.
The product is the second based on HP's "storage Grid" architecture and the
first commercial research product to use a new Linux clustering technology,
called Lustre, which was developed through collaboration between HP, the U.S.
Department of Energy (DoE) and Cluster File Systems Inc.
Targeted initially for high-performance computing (HPC), HP SFS allows
applications to see a single file system image regardless of the number of
servers or storage devices connected to it. Built using industry-standard HP
ProLiant servers and HP StorageWorks disk arrays, HP SFS provides protection
from hardware failures through resilient, redundant hardware and built-in
fail-over and recovery.
Tuned for ease of use and manageability, the system can span dozens to
thousands of clustered Linux servers -- making it dramatically easier to run
distributed applications for challenging science and engineering needs.
The Lustre protocol used in HP SFS is already running in some of the world's
most demanding HPC environments, such as the one found at the DoE Pacific
Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). It helps to eliminate input/output (I/O)
bandwidth bottlenecks and saves users hours of time copying files across
hundreds or thousands of individual, distributed file systems.
The DoE selected HP to provide program management, development, test
engineering, hardware and services to support the Lustre project. HP is the
only major vendor to offer a supported and case-hardened Lustre-based file
share product.
"HP's Lustre implementation on our supercomputer allows us to achieve faster,
more accurate analysis," said Scott Studham, associate director for Advanced
Computing at PNNL. "This translates into faster time-to-solution and better
science for our researchers, who are addressing complex problems in energy,
national security, the environment and life sciences."
Lustre technology has been in use at PNNL for more than a year on one of the
10 largest Linux clusters in the world. PNNL's HP Linux super cluster, with
more than 1,800 Intel Itanium 2 processors, is rated at more than 11 teraflops
(one teraflop equals one trillion floating point operations per second) and
sustains more than 3.2GB per second of bandwidth running production loads on a
single 53TB Lustre-based file share. Individual Linux clients are able to
write data to the parallel Lustre servers at more than 650MB per second. The
system is designed to make the enormous PNNL cluster centralized, easy to use
and manage, and simple to expand.
Studham also noted that Lustre scales the high-bandwidth I/O needed to match
the large data files produced and consumed by the laboratory's scalable
simulations. HP has worked with PNNL to help ensure Lustre is reliable, stable
and cost-effective. "We are confident in the Lustre file system's ability to
prevent loss of data," said Studham.
"HP SFS demonstrates HP's commitment to using industry-standard and open
technologies to meet the requirements of our most demanding customers and to
ensure maximum long-term customer value, simplicity and agility," said Winston
Prather, vice president and general manager of High Performance Technical
Computing at HP. "HP SFS combines accessible, open source technology with a
well-engineered HP product that solves the distributed file system I/O
challenge our high-performance customers face. It also simplifies the use and
administration of Linux clusters, provides faster processing and a higher
return on investment."
HP StorageWorks Grid Enables HP SFS
HP SFS follows introduction this May of the HP StorageWorks Reference
Information Storage System (RISS), an all-in-one archive and retrieval
solution for storing, indexing and rapidly retrieving reference information
based on the HP StorageWorks Grid architecture.
This standards-based architecture allows storage services, such as HP SFS, to
be delivered across a massively scalable, centrally managed system. It divides
storage, indexing, search and retrieval tasks across a distinct set of
computing nodes or storage "smart cells" that cooperate to form a single
shared file system.
Each smart cell is composed of interconnected, self-contained, low-cost, high-
density computing and storage devices. HP SFS smart cells running the Lustre
protocol work in parallel with other smart cells on a shared storage Grid to
deliver extensive scalability and provide unprecedented levels of computing
bandwidth.
The initial HP SFS offering includes two classes of smart cell configurations,
one with highly resilient StorageWorks Enterprise Virtual Array storage and
another with lower priced StorageWorks Modular Smart Array storage. Additional
classes of storage are planned to be added to HP SFS as the HP StorageWorks
Grid strategy expands.
These smart cells can be connected to each other and to the Lustre clients
(compute clusters) with standard 10-100 or Gb Ethernet. Additionally,
customers can use higher speed message-passing interconnects, including
InfiniBand, Myrinet and Quadrics ELAN4.
The HP SFS servers are factory assembled, pre-configured, pre-cabled, pre-
tested in clustered I/O racks, and ready to run the Lustre software with the
HP SFS added-value installation, maintenance, monitoring and administration
tools.
About HP
HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and
institutions globally. The company's offerings span IT infrastructure,
personal computing and access devices, global services and imaging and
printing. For the four fiscal quarters ended April 30, HP revenue totaled
$76.8 billion. More information about HP is available at www.hp.com .
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