Linux NetworX as supercomputer for Fermi scientists

SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 6, 2001 – Linux NetworX, a provider of powerful and easy-to-manage cluster supercomputing solutions, announced today that scientists at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) are using a Linux NetworX cluster supercomputer to help identify new particles as part of a worldwide scientific collaboration to find subatomic clues to reveal the building blocks of the universe.

Linux cluster supercomputing, sometimes called parallel processing or distributed computing, is a method of linking multiple computers together to form a unified and very powerful system. By taking advantage of standard computer components, Linux NetworX clusters can match the performance of traditional supercomputers for a fraction of the cost.

Fermilab scientists are studying the collisions of protons and antiprotons in an effort to identify new particles that are produced as a result of the collisions. Only a fraction of the millions of particle collisions per second are selected for further study, and the Linux NetworX cluster powers the system that quickly identifies unique collisions.

“For CPU intensive tasks, clusters are at present more cost-effective than larger systems,” said Gustaff Brooijmans, a Wilson Fellow at Fermilab and project leader for the computing cluster of the experiment. “To select the most interesting particle collisions, it is essential that we have a high-performance computing solution that is reliable and powerful.”

Located in Batavia, Ill., Fermilab’s 48-node cluster from Linux NetworX includes 96 Pentium III 1.0 GHz processors, 48 GB of memory (RAM) and a Fast Ethernet interconnect. Fermilab also signed an on-going service and support agreement with Linux NetworX.

“The price and performance advantages of Linux clusters make Linux NetworX a natural choice for laboratories requiring high performance computing power,” said Clark Roundy, vice president for Linux NetworX. “Linux NetworX has provided several national laboratories with Linux cluster solutions with recent installations at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory.”

About Linux NetworX

Through its turnkey Evolocity? clusters, ICE? management tools, and professional services, Linux NetworX provides clustering solutions, and empowering tools to organizations seeking high performance computing and high availability systems. To date, the company has built some of the largest cluster systems in the world, and boasts numerous Fortune 500 customers.