A new breed of supercomputers is being launched by IT solutions company, Ainkaboot Ltd. The company will start providing high-performance computer clusters for businesses to use as an alternative to standard servers in July 2006.
These innovative supercomputers are designed to meet the efficiency needs of businesses in the 21st Century, maximising the economies of time, money and minimising environmental impact.
The need for high-performance supercomputers has risen by double figures for the last three years and the practice of clustering, running an application across multiple computers, has grown more than 70 per cent over the last three years. Clustering now accounts for half of the global technical server market. Ainkaboot Ltd is taking the trend a step further to produce high-speed supercomputers that are highly cost and energy efficient.
Ainkaboot’s clusters will speed up high-performance computing by sharing the server’s workload between many processors. The use of many reduced-power processors, instead of fewer powerful processors, increases speed and efficiency.
Ainkaboot Ltd will base its systems on the VIA MiniITX series motherboards to increase the density of their systems and reduce running costs. These motherboards are characteristically compact, allowing more boards to fit into a smaller space.
The efficiency of these processors means Ainkaboot’s servers run using considerably less power than others do, lowering running costs, and creating less heat, negating the need for expensive cooling systems. A similar 1.3-1.66Ghz processor will use approximately 725 per cent more than the annual power consumption of a 1.5Ghz Via C7 motherboard. This processor would cost approximately £86.72 per year* to run while the Via processor would cost just £10.51 per year*.
Another way in which Ainkaboot’s systems protect the environment and lower running costs is through its unique powering method, designed to increase power efficiency.
Ainkaboot systems use a distributed DC power supply to power a whole cabinet of motherboards. This method of distribution is much more energy efficient than other servers because it requires only one AC-DC converter, instead of using individual converters for each motherboard.
“The efficiency of our computers is important, so we can minimise the environmental footprint we leave behind us. This also drastically reduces the costs for our clients,” Hanni Ali, managing director of Ainkaboot, said.
“Ethical and commercial values are not always compatible, but in this case it’s obvious, less wasted energy equals less wasted money.”
The multiple processors provide “high availability” for Ainkaboot systems to assure reliability and facilitate maintenance because individual motherboards can be removed without interrupting performance. This “hot swappable” functionality means they can be unplugged and re-inserted with no disruption to running applications, allowing easier upgrades and maintenance so the systems are completely scalable without causing any interruption to service.
As well as being energy efficient, the motherboards Ainkaboot will use are RoHS compliant, which means they contain no hazardous substances, such as lead, mercury or cadmium, in accordance with the EU Removal of Hazardous Substances directive.
Ainkaboot supercomputers, made to order so they meet the customer’s specific demands, will transform the IT departments of businesses in the financial sector, web hosting, software development and special effects companies, from July this year.
*(based on 1Kwh = 10p)
About Ainkaboot Ltd
Ainkaboot Ltd is a London-based IT solutions company, which specialises in customer-specific solutions for their high-performance computing, software and operating system needs.
The Ainkaboot team finds the best solutions for the client’s needs from conception to completion and beyond.
They listen to what the business wants, suggest an appropriate solution and implement it, remaining committed to after-sales service.
Ainkaboot Ltd was created by Imperial College Physics student, Hanni Ali, in May 2005 and started business providing Software Solutions and Website Design.
URL: www.ainkaboot.co.uk
About Hanni Ali
Hanni Ali is the Managing Director of Ainkaboot Ltd.
Hanni joined the Gentoo Cluster development team in January 2006 and is currently working on a clustering LiveCD.
He also works on the GridPP project for Imperial College London, an academic project that aims to make it possible to share storage space and processing power over the grid of networked computers across the world.
Hanni has created an Open Source Linux Distribution called Kaboot. Based on Gentoo Linux, it is a Live CD/USB Operating System, which is portable, flexible, and available in different configurations depending on the user’s needs.
Hanni will graduate from Imperial College with a Physics degree in June 2006.
He has experience in quantitative financial modelling and technical analysis and five years experience as a website designer and developer.
For more information, please contact Media Relations Officer Julie Hayes,
Tel: (+44) 7763751958
Email: Julie.hayes@ainkaboot.co.uk”
