PSSC Labs Builds Supercomputer for NASA Ames Research Center The
Hyperwall Will Allow NASA to Visualize Complex Models on Tiled Display
LOS ANGELES, CA -- May 7, 2003 -- PSSC Labs announced today the
completion and delivery of a new supercomputer for NASA's Ames Research
Center. Scientists at the Ames Research Center are exploring the
boundaries of traditional "powerwalls" by developing a unique
visualization system that can display up to six dimensions. Designated a
"Hyperwall", this visualization system offers the unique ability to
display independent but meaningfully related images for comparison
purposes.
"This constitutes about our twenty-fifth project for NASA and our second
for the Ames Research Center specifically. We are honored to be a part
of these ground-breaking and exciting projects and we look forward to
many more with the people at NASA," said Alex Lesser, VP of PSSC Labs.
PSSC Labs configured the operating system and cluster management
software to meet NASA's exacting specifications. PSSC Labs Cluster
Technicians installed Redhat's Linux 7.3 kernel, optimized for
performance, along with the Ganglia Cluster Monitoring Utility and
System Imager.
Fifty high-end servers, integrated by PSSC Labs, power the Hyperwall,
Each server contains two AMD AthlonT MP processors 2000+ mounted on Tyan
Tiger S2466N motherboards. The display element of the Hyperwall is
composed of a 7'x7' matrix of 18.1" liquid crystal displays. Aggregate
pixel count for the entire Hyperwall exceeds 64 million. Graphic
displays are controlled by 128MB Nvidia Geforce 4 Ti 4600 AGP video
cards.
According to NASA Ames research scientists, the Hyperwall is extremely
adept at displaying a two-dimensional array of three-dimensional images;
thereby providing a five dimensional view. Not content, these scientists
are "currently attempting to provide a tool for interactively exploring
the six dimensional electronic pair density function calculated for
small molecules."1 "NASA needed a stable solution allowing for excellent
floating point performance and high-end graphic capabilities," explained
Lesser. "AMD processors in combination with Tyan motherboards and the
nVidia graphic controllers offered an excellent solution for this great
project."
Said Marty Seyer, Vice President of Server Business for AMD, "AMD
AthlonT MP processors provide the performance and reliability that is
required of this kind of high-performance computing. We're pleased to
work with PSSC Labs to provide the state-of-the-art processor technology
that the NASA Ames Hyperwall will depend upon."
Don Clegg, Vice President of Tyan Computer Corporation is equally
enthused by the Hyperwall, "PSSC Labs continues to exhibit the ability
to deliver stable, high performance, computing solutions based upon Tyan
products. That's why we're so pleased to be involved with them in
providing solutions to prestigious organizations such as NASA."
1 C. Henze, C. Levit, D. Ellsworth, T. Sandstrom. The Hyperwall: A
multiple flat panel display wall for high dimensional visualization.
NASA Advanced Supercomputing Division, NASA Ames Research Center
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About PSSC Labs
PSSC Labs provides high performance workstations, servers and Beowulf
Supercomputing solutions to the world's most prestigious and demanding
organizations. Since 1989, NASA, NIST, NIH, LANL, Sandia, US Department
of Defense, Harvard University, MIT, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman,
Concurrent Pharmaceuticals and many more have looked to PSSC Labs for
solutions to their HPC and High Speed Interconnect needs. Each system is
custom configured to our customers' specific requirements, be it
scientific research, visualization, real-time simulations or financial
modeling. Our hardware knowledge, LINUX software expertise, fully
integrated cluster management tools and unsurpassed lifetime support of
our systems ensure that PSSC Labs customers receive the best the
possible solution at the most competitive price. For complete details
please call PSSC Labs at 949-380-7288 or visit www.pssclabs.com.
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