Applied Micro Teams with Red Hat and Cirrascale to Deliver X‑Gene-Based Cluster to LLNL
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Nov. 17 — Applied Micro Circuits Corporation, today announced collaboration with Red Hat and Cirrascale to deliver a high performance computing (HPC) cluster based on the world’s first ARM 64-bit X‑Gene Server on a Chip to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. This cluster will be tested and evaluated as a platform for HPC and Big Data technologies.
The X‑Gene-based cluster delivered to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory comes in Cirrascale RM1905D chassis and is based on a software platform developed as a part of the Red Hat ARM Partner Early Access Program.
Launched in July 2014, the Red Hat ARM Partner Early Access Program facilitates partner-initiated system designs based on the 64-bit ARM architecture and enables faster innovation within an ecosystem that includes silicon vendors, OEMs and ISVs, by providing a common server software platform.
The X‑Gene cluster as developed by Cirrascale consists of 78 RM1905D 1U dual-node rackmount servers provisioned for high performance computing in a custom chassis supporting one to four GPUs in a system.
AppliedMicro’s X‑Gene platform represents a ground-up, scale-out server processor tailored for increased growth in cloud computing, high performance computing and next-generation data centers.
X‑Gene is the first processor of its kind, featuring 8 custom, enterprise-class, high-performance ARMv8‑A cores running at 2.4Ghz, with 4 memory channels capable of accommodating up to 512GBytes of high speed DDR3 memory, Multiple integrated 10Gigabit Ethernets, 17 lanes of PCIe Gen 3.0; the device is the first and most advanced ARM 64-bit architecture with unique network and storage off-load engines. The highly integrated, purpose-built X‑Gene platform delivers the high performance, low total cost of ownership (TCO) for private cloud, public cloud, High Performance Computing and enterprise applications.
The Cirrascale RM1905D HPC Development Platform is an ideal solution to deploy ARM 64-bit architecture in production ready environments. The RM1905D Development Platform delivers twice the density by providing two individual nodes per 1U, effectively doubling the density over standard 1U rackmount implementations.
“As a national security laboratory, Lawrence Livermore works with industry leaders to push the limit on state-of-the-art high performance computing and develop the capabilities needed to achieve its security goals. By bolstering X‑Gene technology, we ensure a continual stream of effective, reliable cluster solutions moving forward,” commented Kim Cupps, Livermore Computing Division Leader. “For the first time, the Lawrence Livermore will evaluate, at scale, the software platform from the Red Hat ARM Partner Early Access Program and the underlying ARM-based servers with the purpose of using this architecture in future production cluster procurements.”
“This is truly a new era for the High Performance Computing community as a whole,” said David Driggers, CEO, Cirrascale Corporation. “Delivering the first ARMv8 system for HPC, based on the AppliedMicro X‑Gene product, and assisting Lawrence Livermore in achieving their goals in building the next generation of HPC clusters has been very exciting.”
“The Red Hat ARM Partner Early Access Program is intended to drive open standards and best practices, such as SBSA and UEFI, within the 64-bit ARM ecosystem and the broader technology community, and we are pleased to see this taking shape through our collaboration with Cirrascale and Applied Micro,” said Tim Burke, vice president, Cloud and Operating System Infrastructure, Red Hat. “The delivery of a 64-bit ARM-based evaluation platform to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will help gauge the effectiveness of open solutions paired with ARM technology in the highly-demanding HPC and big data environments.”
A live demonstration of these technologies will be available at AppliedMicro Booth No. 1757 during SC14 conference in New Orleans, LA, November 17–20, 2014.
About Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Lawrence Livermore is a National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) applied science laboratory dedicated to national security, notably ensuring the safety, security and reliability of the nation’s nuclear deterrent without underground testing. NNSA’s Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASC) program is a cornerstone of that effort.
About Cirrascale Corporation
Cirrascale Corporation is a premier provider of custom rackmount and blade server solutions developed and engineered for today’s conventional data centers. Cirrascale leverages its patented Vertical Cooling Technology, engineering resources, and intellectual property to provide the industry’s most energy-efficient standards-based platforms with the lowest possible total cost of ownership in the densest form factor. Cirrascale sells to large-scale infrastructure operators, hosting and managed services providers, cloud service providers, government, higher education, and HPC users. Cirrascale also licenses its award winning technology to partners globally. To learn more about Cirrascale and its unique data center infrastructure solutions, please visit http://www.cirrascale.com or call (888) 942‑3800.
About Applied Micro
Applied Micro Circuits Corporation is a global leader in computing and connectivity solutions for next-generation cloud infrastructure and data centers. AppliedMicro delivers silicon solutions that dramatically lower total cost of ownership. Corporate headquarters are located in Sunnyvale, California. www.apm.com.
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Source: Applied Micro