Features:

WATANABE DISCUSSES NEC'S POSITION IN HPC INDUSTRY

by Christopher Lazou
Christopher Lazou interviewed NEC's VP, Mr. Tadashi Watanabe, designer of the NEC SX series, who explained why "vector parallel multiprocessor architecture is the most promising supercomputing path to achieve sustained petaflop/s."

DIGITAL PRESERVATION PROGRAM LAUNCHES GRANTS INITIATIVE

The National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program of the Library of Congress (NDIIPP) is partnering with the NSF to establish the first research grants program to specifically address digital preservation.

SCIENTISTS DEMONSTRATE QUANTUM TELEPORTATION WITH ATOMS

Researchers at the University of Innsbruck in Austria, in collaboration with a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, announced the first demonstration of the teleportation of a quantum state from one trapped atom to another located 8 microns away.

PUMPING ENERGY TO NANOCRYSTALS FROM A QUANTUM WELL

University of California scientists working at Los Alamos National Laboratory with a colleague from Sandia National Laboratories have developed a new method for exciting light emission from nanocrystal quantum dots.

Cluster Computing:

TACC UPGRADES TERASCALE MACHINE, LONESTAR

Lonestar, the Cray/Dell Linux cluster supercomputer at the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) at UT Austin, has been upgraded with 128 new, more powerful nodes, for a total of 428 nodes (856 processors), 892 GB of aggregate memory, and 43.6 TB of disk.

CTC CLUSTERS ASSIST WORLD LEADER IN DIGITAL PRINTING

Research associates at the Cornell Theory Center (CTC) used the Center's Windows-based HPC clusters to generate digital printing simulations to illustrate specific cause and effect relationships important to the production of images.

TBWA/CHIAT/DAY DEPLOYS CANDERA SCE 510 CLUSTER FOR SAN MOVE

Candera, Inc. announced that TBWA/Chiat/Day, a leading advertising agency in the U.S., has deployed the Candera SCE 510 Cluster and low- cost Serial ATA (SATA) RAID technology as a primary storage solution in its Los Angeles office.

High Performance Ads:

• Our Cluster Works. Will Yours?
  
  
• Hella Autotechnik s.r.o. Invests in Virtual Product
  Development With SimDesigner From MSC.Software.

Vendor Spotlight:

CRAY X1 HAS HIGH REPORTED SCORES ON HPC CHALLENGE TESTS

Cray Inc. announced that overall customer-reported scores for the Cray X1 supercomputer system are the best for any high-performance computing (HPC) system on the new HPC Challenge benchmark tests.

HP REACHES MILESTONE OF 100,000 BLADE SERVERS SOLD

HP announced it has sold more than 100,000 blade servers, retaking the market share lead in the industry's fastest-growing server market segment.

SGI TECH DRIVES INNOVATIONS IN WEATHER PREDICTION, RESEARCH

As scientists mark the 50th anniversary of operational numerical weather prediction, Silicon Graphics announced that its high- performance computing technology continues to help drive innovations in weather forecasting and climate research the world over.

U OF MD GOES GLOBAL IN 28 COUNTRIES WITH SUN MICROSYSTEMS

Sun Microsystems, Inc. announced that the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) chose Sun's UltraSPARC systems based on the highly reliable, secure, and industrial-strength Solaris Operating System to run its global PeopleSoft implementation.

Quote of the Week:

• Bill Johnston, head of the Department of
  Energy's Energy Sciences Network (ESnet), LBNL.

GRID TOP DOGS ON GGF11, COOPERATION WITH EGA TOPSPIN, PLATFORM TO GRID-ENABLE CAPITAL MKTS, RISK MGMT APPS

News Briefs:

Hardware

• Intel Begins 300 mm Production At New Facility In Ireland
• Cray Announces Order For Cray XD1 System From DoE'S PNNL
• Xilinx, UMC Develop FPGAs To Utilize Triple-Oxide 90nm Tech
• AMD Announces Milestone With Its Multiple-Core Strategy
• Bull Extends NovaScale Range w/ NovaScale 6000, 9000 Servers
• Teradyne Intros Guidelines For High-Performance Circuits
• Tarari To Accelerate High-Throughput XML-Based Apps

Software

• DB2 Universal Database Certified On Line Of SGI Altix Servers
• ESI Group Sim Software Targets New Manufacturing Process
• Steintek OEM Agreement To Provide Geomagic With 3D Scanner
• RLX Tech Raises The Bar With Release Of Server Mgt Suite
• Visual Kinematics, Inc. Incorporates OpenHSF Export

Networking

• Virtual Frog Web Site Still Making A Splash After 10 Years
• TFN Assists Homeland Security Through Interactive Training
• CTC Resources Enhance Partnership Between CU, Syracuse U
• MCI, CIENA And Mintera Demo Long-Haul Connection At 40 Gbps
• De Beers Scales Up 10-Gigabit Ethernet Tech From Enterasys
• InfiniCon To Bring InfiniBand Solutions To The Intel ESAA
• Siliquent Emerges From Stealth Mode w/ Ethernet Coprocessor

Storage

• Brocade Storage Infrastructure Chosen For MS Tech Centers
• HighPoint Intros PCI-X To SATA RAID 5 Host Adapter
• Promise Launches iSCSI 'SAN-for-the-Masses' Solution

General

• LANL Wins 2004 Nucleus Research And ROI Award With NetPro
• NSF Reports On Status Of Women, Minorities In S&E
• IDC Expects Demand In 2004 Server Market To Produce Growth
• Celebration Of Women In Computing 2004 Registration Open
• Engenio Joins Industry Leaders To Form OpenIB Alliance
• NY State Has Necessary Factors For Bioscience Success
• Distributed Information Systems Lab Dedicated At Sandia-CA

Short Takes:

Product Watch:

AMD Unveils Design For AMD-8000 Series.
LSI Demos 12 Gbit/S Serial Interface Circuitry.
3Dlabs Unleashes Wildcat Graphics Accelerator.

Financial Update:

SGI Finalizes Sale of Alias Business.
SI Tech Reports Third Qtr Operating Results.
Mercury Receives Order For Phase II Of MP-RTIP.

Corporate Liaisons:

U.S. Courts Selects BakBone, HP Servers.
Axeda Expands IBM Platform Support.
Metatomix, Sun Deliver Risk-Mgt Solutions.

People and Position:

Kay Wins Third Major Scientific Honor.
J. Markee Joins Dot Hill As Director.
GMSI CEO Augustine, Jr. Claims Awards.

HPCwire Job Bank

This Week's Career Opportunities From: Accenture  Adaptec CDEE   ClearSpeed Comp. Assets  Cray   ECMWF Instrumental  LLNL   PathScale  TACC Voltaire

Conferences & Events

HPCwire notes events and highlights a complete listing of industry-related conferences, exhibitions, meetings, etc.

Last Week's Most Read Articles:

1. CHINESE SUPERCOMPUTER MAY RANK AMONG FASTEST COMPUTERS
2. QUANTUM COMPUTING: OPENING THE DOOR TO UNPRECEDENTED POWER
3. INFINICON ATTAINS BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE FOR HPC CLUSTERS
4. LANDMARK, IBM AGREE TO OFFER POWERFUL SUPERCOMPUTING