Simplifying HPC with Intel® Cluster ReadyIntel and Silicon Mechanics make it simple to increase productivity and solve new problems with HPC

Challenge • Simplify HPC.Makeitsimpleforcustomerstobuy,deploy,andmanagehigh-performancecomputing(HPC)clusterstosolvenewproblemsandincreaseproductivity.

• Enhance reliability.Givecustomerstheconfidencethattheirapplicationswillrunontheclusterstheychoose.

• Streamline cluster management.Reduceadministrativecomplexitysomoresmallorgani-zationscancapitalizeonthepowerofHPC.

Solution • Certified Intel® Cluster Ready cluster.SiliconMechanicsofferscertifiedIntelClusterReadyclusterswithIntel®Xeon®processorstodelivercomputingpowerwithoutcomplexity.

• Proof point.IntelandSiliconMechanicscreatedacertifiedIntelClusterReadyclusterandinasingledayloadedandransixregisteredapplicationswithoutrebuildingthecluster.

Impact • Configuration made simple.BychoosingacertifiedIntelClusterReadyclusterfortheirregisteredapplications,customersknowthatcomponentsandapplicationswillworktogether,rightoutofthebox.

• Fast troubleshooting. Intel®ClusterCheckerhelpsidentifyandresolveproblemsfast,in-creasingclusterreliability,reducingadministrativecomplexity,andminimizingtheneedforspecializedsupportskills.

• Reaching new customers.TheIntelClusterReadyprogramismakingHPCpossibleforawiderrangeoforganizations.

SystemsintegratorSiliconMechanicswantedtomakeitsimpleforcustomerstobuy,deploy,andmanage

high-performancecomputing(HPC)clusters.ByofferingcertifiedHPCclustersthroughtheIntel®ClusterReady

program,SiliconMechanicscanreducethecomplexityofassemblingaclusterandassurecustomersthattheir

registeredapplicationswillrunastheyshould,rightoutofthebox.Intel®ClusterCheckerhelpscustomersstream-

lineongoingmanagementsotheycanenhancesystemreliabilityandminimizetheresourcesrequiredtokeepthe

systemrunning.

Customers look to reduce complexityFormanySiliconMechanicscustomers,complexityistheprimaryobstaclefordeploying

anewHPCcluster.“Ourcustomersturntohigh-performancecomputingtosolveparticu-

larproblems,”saysDaveBryan,executivevicepresidentofproductsatSiliconMechanics.

“Butinmanycases,theydon’thavetheITresourcestomanagealarge,complexinfra-

structure.Ourgoalistomakeitsimpleformorecustomerstoexperiencethepowerof

HPCsotheycanattackthoseproblemsheadon.”

CaseStudyIntel Cluster Ready

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This document and the information given are for the convenience of Intel’s customer base and are provided “AS IS” WITH NO WARRANTIES WHATSOEVER, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS. Receipt or possession of this document does not grant any license to any of the intellectual property described, displayed, or contained herein. Intel products are not intended for use in medical, life-saving, life-sustaining, critical control, or safety systems, or in nuclear facility applications.

Performancetestsandratingsaremeasuredusingspecificcomputersystemsand/orcomponentsandreflecttheapproximateperformanceofIntelproductsasmeasuredbythosetests.Anydifferenceinsystemhardwareorsoftwaredesignorconfigurationmayaffectactualperformance.

Intelmaymakechangestospecifications,productdescriptionsandplansatanytime,withoutnotice.

Intel, the Intel logo, Intel. Leap ahead, the Intel. Leap ahead logo, and Intel Xeon are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.

*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.

Copyright © 2008 Intel Corporation

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Intel Cluster Ready makes it simple to buy and deploy HPC clustersSiliconMechanicsofferscertifiedIntelClusterReadyclusterstomake

iteasyforcustomerstoconfigureacluster.“Mostcustomersdon’t

havethetimeorresourcestoresearchandtestallofthehardware

andsoftwarecomponentsinacluster,”saysBryan.“TheIntelCluster

Readyprogramhelpsensurethatallofthehardwareandsoftware

componentsinaclusterworktogetherperfectly,rightoutofthebox.

Ourcustomerscanbuyaclusterwithconfidence.”

IntelandSiliconMechanicsconductedaproofpointtodemonstrate

howtheIntelClusterReadyprogramworks.“Wecreatedacertified

HyperformIntelClusterReadyclusterrunningClustercorpROCKS+*

middlewareonIntel®Xeon®–basedcomputenodes,”saysKirtanShah,

productmanageratSiliconMechanics.“Injustoneday,weloaded

andrancodesfromAbaqus,Fluent,PAM-CRASH,LS-DYNA,Nastran,

andSTAR-CD—allwithouthavingtorebuildthecluster.WiththeIntel

ClusterReadyprogram,customerscandeployanHPCsolutionand

runapplicationswithoutin-depthHPCexpertise.”To view a video

about the proof point, visit www.intel.com/go/cluster/.

SiliconMechanicsalsolaunchedanonlineconfigurationtooltofur-

thersimplifytheprocessofbuyingacluster.“Customerscanuseour

dynamic,onlineconfiguratortobuildtheirownIntelClusterReady

certifiedcluster.Theconfigurationtoolstartswithabasecertified

system.Customerscanthenconfigureprocessors,memory,hard

drives,andsecondaryswitchingfabricoptions.Thetoolallowsfor

customizationoftheheadnodeandcomputenodes.Customerscan

alsoselectthenumberofnodestomeettheirapplicationrequire-

mentsorfitwithintheirbudget,”saysShah.“Nomatterwhichchoices

customersmake,theclusterwillstillbewithinthecertification.”

Intel Cluster Ready—Making HPC simple

Intel Cluster Checker reduces troubleshooting from days to hoursAspartoftheIntelClusterReadyprogram,IntelcreatedtheIntel

ClusterCheckertooltosimplifyongoingmanagement.Customers

runIntelClusterCheckerregularlytomakesurethattheclusterisstill

withincertification.Thetoolcanquicklyidentifyproblemsthatmight

causeperformancedegradationorsystemfailure.

“IntelClusterCheckercandramaticallyreducethetimeandresources

requiredtotroubleshootproblems,”saysBryan.“Techniciansmight

upgradesomesoftwareandcauseanincompatibility,ortheremight

beacableconnectionproblem,faultyinterconnect,ormismatched

interconnectdevicedriver.Inotherclusters,adriverproblemcould

easilytakeweekstodiagnose.WithIntelClusterChecker,customers

canfindandfixproblemsinafewhours.”

IntelClusterCheckercanalsohelpsystemsintegratorsandsoftware

vendorsstreamlinecustomersupport.“Becausewecandetermine

thecauseofmanyproblemsquickly,wecanuseourinternalresources

moreefficiently,”saysShah.“UsingIntelClusterCheckeralsomeans

thatwecansolvemanyproblemsusingsupportpersonnelwhoaren’t

engineerswithspecializedHPCskills.”

Intel Cluster Ready makes HPC a reality for new customersBymakingitsimpletobuy,deploy,andmanageanHPCcluster,the

IntelClusterReadyprogramwillenablemoreorganizationsto

capitalizeonthepowerofHPC.“IntelClusterReadymakesHPC

deploymentinadepartmentorasmallorganizationtrulypossible,”

saysBryan.“Whetheryou’readesigngroupinalargeautomotive

enterprise,aproductpackagingorganization,orasmalloilandgas

firmconductingreservoirmodeling,IntelClusterReadyprovidesa

simplewaytoexperiencethepowerofhigh-performancecomputing

withoutthecomplexityofmanagingalargeinfrastructure.”

What is Intel® Cluster Ready?TheIntelClusterReadyprogrammakesitsimpleforcus-

tomerstobuy,deploy,andoperateanIntel®processor–based

HPCcluster.IntelworkswithsystemintegratorssuchasSilicon

Mechanicsaswellashardwareandsoftwarevendorstocreate

acommonbasisforHPCclusters.Anapplicationwrittentorun

ononecertifiedIntelClusterReadyclustercanrunreliablyon

anothercertifiedcluster.

For more information, visit www.intel.com/go/cluster to discover which applications are Intel Cluster Ready and where to buy a certified Intel Cluster Ready cluster