Top 500 Supercomputers

[xarir]

http://www.top500.org/list/2003/11/

The updated list of the top 500 (fastest) supercomputers has been released. Interesting to note that Virginia Tech's cluster of off-the-shelf Apple computers is rated at #3 (10.28 Teraflops).

By my very rough calculations though, The Apple cluster works out to roughly $408K (USD) per Teraflop. That means there's no real cost savings associated with going the Apple route. I read that IBM in fact is working on a new supercomputer for Los Alamos that will cost in the range of $200K per Teraflop.

Also semi-interesting to note is who's on the list. In my quick scan I saw BMW pop up three times and GM once along with a few oil companies and a couple of banks.

 

[CyberGoth]

hmmm clusterlicious

hmmm clusters. with a couple exceptions, every machine in my place is a member element of a linux based computing cluster. [runs fractint real well]

DIY supercomputing is a very real hobby now for anyone with the interest and resources. :>

 

[Meesh]

Wow, and I was just thinking that my Timex-Sinclair 1000 was hot!

 

[CyberGoth]

simple recipie for a DIY cluster:

debian linux
beowulf clustering kit
2 ethernet cards per machine each to separate ethernet switches
and as many old pentiums and 486s and P2s as you can find.

install debian/beowulf on all systems.

deploy on its own reserved class C address space.

presto. gigaflops for cheap.

want more cpu? add more boxes, simple.

 

[xarir]

Re: Re: Top 500 Supercomputers

No cost saving compared to what? You've made a comparative statement without saying what you're comparing to.

Very true. My apologies! I was comparing the $400K per Teraflop pricetag with other "traditional" supercomputers such as those from IBM. My understanding is that the going rate for most large-scale computers is roughly $400K per Teraflop which means that the Apple solution, while cool just ends up costing the same anyway.

I will grant of course that the Apple solution is possibly more scaelable which leads to certain operational flexibilities that cannot be easily dismissed and therefore may help to justify the pricetag.

 

[xarir]

Here's a link to what amounts to Apple marketing fluff about the Virginia Tech G5 cluster supercomputer. Marketing aside though, the video is kind of interesting in a geeky kind of way.

http://www.apple.com/hardware/video/virginiatech/

 

[Peeping Tom]

Do you have control over what runs, i.e., can you dispatch individual tasks, or are you stuck to parallelized work?

Problem with DIY clustering is connectivity - clustering won't work well if ethernet can't let them talk ... although 486's aren't likely to saturate the band.

debian linux
beowulf clustering kit
2 ethernet cards per machine each to separate ethernet switches
and as many old pentiums and 486s and P2s as you can find.