Aspen Systems Collaborates with AMD to provide customized Beowulf clusters on AMD Opteron processors

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Leslie Cunningham writes “Wheat Ridge, CO, April 22, 2003 Aspen Systems, Inc., a world leader in the custom design, manufacture and service of a wide array of Linux(R)-based high-performance computing solutions, announced today that it is working with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) to provide customized Beowulf clusters and high-end server solutions based on the AMD Opteron(TM) processor.

Aspen Systems will offer Beowulf clusters and high-end server solutions with the AMD64 architecture, so customers can maintain current levels of productivity at 32 bits while simultaneously enhancing applications in order to take advantage of the 64-bit architecture.

Aspen Systems customers in the high-performance computing marketplace have been waiting for a mainstream 64-bit solution that will enable them to increase system level performance, stated Steve Spring, CEO of Aspen Systems. The commitment by AMD to drive the AMD Opteron processor to market will increase our ability to offer customers a solution that will fit their specific computational requirements.

Aspen Systems Beowulf clusters and high-end servers with the AMD Opteron processor will feature:
· 1U, 2U and 4U Rack-mount Platform Solutions with High-speed Myrinet Interconnects – The AMD Opteron processor-based 1U rack-mount solutions will handle between 12 and up to16 GB of total memory and the 2U rack-mount solution will handle up to 12 GB of total memory. The AMD Opteron processor-based 4U rack-mount solution will handle up to 32 GB of total memory.
· Aspen Systems ABC Cluster Management Software – The Aspen Beowulf Cluster (ABC) management system supports the operations of a Beowulf cluster by providing an administrator with the ability to manage, monitor and control a collection of machines that makes up a Beowulf cluster. ABC is operated from a secure password protected location over the network. Aspen Systems can configure the ABC management system based on the customer’s needs and install it onto a Beowulf cluster to enable turnkey operation of the system.
· AMD64 Technology – AMD64 technology builds upon the industry-standard x86 platform. AMD64 makes 64-bit computing accessible by providing a seamless, simplified migration path to 64-bit computing that is backward compatible with todays installed x86 base.
· HyperTransport Technology – A high-speed, low-latency, point-to-point link designed to increase the communication speed between integrated circuits in computers, servers, embedded systems, networking and telecommunications equipment up to 48 times faster than some existing technologies.
· Integrated DDR Memory Controller – The 128-bit wide integrated DDR DRAM memory controller is capable of supporting up to eight registered DDR DIMMs per processor.

The AMD Opteron processor brings the increased performance of the AMD64 architecture to data-intensive, business-critical and technical computing applications, said Ben Williams, director, AMDs Server/Workstation Business Segment. With the addition of AMD Opteron processor-based systems to its product line, Aspen Systems is enabling customers to grow their businesses with a high performance computing platform while eliminating innovation barriers to 64-bit computing. Aspen Systems will be able to offer higher performance, more capable systems that will enable increased productivity.

Visit Aspen Systems on the Internet at http://www.aspsys.com/features/opteron/ to review specific system details and to request a quote from Aspen Systems team of experts.

About Aspen Systems
Aspen Systems, Inc., a privately held corporation, has been serving the high-performance, technical computing community with expertise in custom computer hardware design, manufacturing and service for over 20 years. Their expertise includes a variety of high-performance technical computing disciplines with emphasis on serving the needs of advanced technical computing users and corporations that use the most demanding applications. Aspen Systems has built their reputation, as a leading provider of Beowulf clustering solutions by offering multiple configurations with a choice of processors and connectivity for specific performance needs. First class technical support and state-of-the-art products allows Aspen Systems to create and support the high-performance solutions that customers in the Weather Modeling, Financial Modeling, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Bio-tech, and Geophysics Research fields (among other compute-intensive parallel markets) demand. For more information about Aspen Systems, visit
their website at www.aspsys.com.

AMD, AMD Opteron, and combinations thereof, are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Other product and company names are for international purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective companies.

Editorial Contact:
Leslie Cunningham
Marketing Communications
Aspen Systems, Inc.
(T) 303-431-4606
(E) lesliec@aspsys.com”

Link: aspsys.com