New 324-Node Mac Pro Cluster In The Works At Va Tech

MacRumors · 03:06 AM

Virginia Tech is building another Mac-based supercomputer, this time out of Mac Pros. According to ArsTechnica, Virginia Tech's Center for High-End Computing System is building a new cluster using 324 Mac Pro towers that will have a theoretical computing capacity of 29 teraflops.

Quote:

The system will be used to study two main areas: power-aware software systems that can adjust performance automatically to maximize efficiency, and distributed shared memory systems that can run existing threaded code on high-performance clusters "as if they were scaled up versions of multi-core desktops."

Virginia Tech made headlines in 2003 when they assembled a cost-efficient supercomputer named System X out of Power Mac G5s. System X ranked as the third fastest supercomputer in the 22nd edition of the of the Top 500 list, performing at over 10 teraflops. The system was upgraded to 2.3 GHz Xserve G5s approximately a year later. Ars notes that if System X were to be upgraded to current generation Xserves, the result would be a "8800-core monster that could push as much as 100 Tflops—at least in theory— coming close to Top 10 territory."

The school is using Mac Pros instead of Xserves because Xserves would require more robust cooling requirements; System X uses a hybrid liquid and forced air system that is housed in a separate building whereas the Mac Pro cluster would only require a conventional air-cooled room. Also, the additional PCI Express 2.0 slots provided by the Mac Pro were deemed desirable for use in other research projects.

Article Link

amac4me · Jul 24, 2008, 10:48 PM

Nice, I wish we could get some pics of the cluster to see those Mac Pro's all lined up!

ppilone · Jul 24, 2008, 10:50 PM

Go Hokies!

I need to find out how to get into that undergrad research!

SandersHokie · Jul 24, 2008, 10:53 PM

yeah baby, my alma mater

queshy · Jul 24, 2008, 10:53 PM

Wow, 324 Mac Pros = nice gift for apple

Chaos123x · Jul 24, 2008, 10:54 PM

They should wait untill Nehalem before spending all that money.

KingYaba · Jul 24, 2008, 10:57 PM

^ They should save a lot of money and forgo the Mac Pro.

intel · Jul 24, 2008, 11:01 PM

With a system like that, I could download ALL the porn on the internet. That thing can probably simulate sex in space. I bet they are simulating the effect of copultion in zero gravity as we speak, followed by what it would be like on Mercury. Gee, Some reserach that would be. Barnie Stinsen is in charge of that department. He holds the record for the most theme park rides and the deapest underwater experience. Many have died trying new things. Thank God for the mac and it's research potential. Many lives could be saved.

swagi · Jul 24, 2008, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chaos123x

They should wait untill Nehalem before spending all that money.

Maybe that's part of the plan. Currently they are using G5s. Therefore they have to rewrite and reoptimize their code to Intel architecture.

So I guess as soon as they have finished that (build software that actually takes use of all those processor cores), they will use upgraded XServes.

Small White Car · Jul 24, 2008, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KingYaba

^ They should save a lot of money and forgo the Mac Pro.

They DID save a lot of money. Last time they did this their G5 supercomputer cost about $5 million. At that time most similar supercomputers were costing about $100 million.

But hey, I guess they should have asked you. Or maybe not, since you didn't actually make any suggestions here.

longofest · Jul 24, 2008, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KingYaba

^ They should save a lot of money and forgo the Mac Pro.

Read the Ars article and the guy explains his decision. I believe they have a set of criteria that they want to meet... they are probably in a position where FB-DIMM memory is preferable, dual-CPU quad core machine is preferable, and they want to use OSX so that they can use XGrid among all of the other Unix tools. When you have that kind of feature need, the Mac Pro really is well priced.

jdreher · Jul 24, 2008, 11:07 PM

but how snappy, exactly, does this make safari?

intel · Jul 24, 2008, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Small White Car

They DID save a lot of money. Last time they did this their G5 supercomputer cost about $5 million. At that time most similar supercomputers were costing about $100 million.

But hey, I guess they should have asked you. Or maybe not, since you didn't actually make any suggestions here.

Oh SNAP! Good call there by a small white car with a built in ipod dock.

longofest · Jul 24, 2008, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swagi

Maybe that's part of the plan. Currently they are using G5s. Therefore they have to rewrite and reoptimize their code to Intel architecture.

So I guess as soon as they have finished that (build software that actually takes use of all those processor cores), they will use upgraded XServes.

Read article again... this cluster is not replacing System X (G5 cluster). It is a brand new cluster to run along-side System X.

A System X upgrade is in the preliminary stages.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdreher

but how snappy, exactly, does this make safari?

Think entire internet in 5 minutes. The fastest computer in the world is breaking the 1 minute barrier as we speak.

intel · Jul 24, 2008, 11:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdreher

but how snappy, exactly, does this make safari?

I think zippy is the word His Jobness would use.
Snappy... the small white car with the ipod contraption and a mac doc on the windshield, now he's snappy.

Rocketman · Jul 24, 2008, 11:12 PM

This is the software dev prototype for the 2011 Intel chip mega-core Mac-Mini.

I don't want a picture of the cluster, I want a log-in.

Rocketman

kabunaru · Jul 24, 2008, 11:22 PM

Can the Mac Pro super-computer max out Crysis? That's the question.

rockinrocker · Jul 24, 2008, 11:24 PM

what i'm wondering is what kind of latency they're getting in cubase....

thecartoonguy · Jul 24, 2008, 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by intel

With a system like that, I could download ALL the porn on the internet. That thing can probably simulate sex in space. I bet they are simulating the effect of copultion in zero gravity as we speak, followed by what it would be like on Mercury. Gee, Some reserach that would be. Barnie Stinsen is in charge of that department. He holds the record for the most theme park rides and the deapest underwater experience. Many have died trying new things. Thank God for the mac and it's research potential. Many lives could be saved.

LOL

Auzburner · Jul 24, 2008, 11:33 PM

I really love when they do this type of stuff! I remember back when it was done with the G5's. Sweet...

thecartoonguy · Jul 24, 2008, 11:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Small White Car

They DID save a lot of money. Last time they did this their G5 supercomputer cost about $5 million. At that time most similar supercomputers were costing about $100 million.

But hey, I guess they should have asked you. Or maybe not, since you didn't actually make any suggestions here.

Good money well spent. This is a very cool project.

puckhead193 · Jul 24, 2008, 11:48 PM

this would be nice to have when rendering HD video in FCP

demenas · Jul 24, 2008, 11:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by longofest

Read the Ars article and the guy explains his decision. I believe they have a set of criteria that they want to meet... they are probably in a position where FB-DIMM memory is preferable, dual-CPU quad core machine is preferable, and they want to use OSX so that they can use XGrid among all of the other Unix tools. When you have that kind of feature need, the Mac Pro really is well priced.

I read the article, and neither OS X, XGrid, or FB-DIMMS are mentioned at all.

Steve

cloudnine · Jul 24, 2008, 11:57 PM

I'd hate to see that electric bill :P

noodle654 · Jul 25, 2008, 12:03 AM

Good lord! LET ME PLAY BROTHERS IN ARMS: HELLS HIGHWAY ON IT!!!

Jul 24, 2008, 10:48 PM	#2
amac4me macrumors 65816 Join Date: Apr 2005	Nice, I wish we could get some pics of the cluster to see those Mac Pro's all lined up! __________________ Switch To A Mac http://switchtoamac.com

Jul 24, 2008, 10:50 PM	#3
ppilone macrumors regular Join Date: Jan 2008	Go Hokies! I need to find out how to get into that undergrad research! __________________ iHomework MacBook Pro iPhone

Jul 24, 2008, 10:53 PM	#5
queshy macrumors 68040 Join Date: Apr 2005	Wow, 324 Mac Pros = nice gift for apple __________________ "I always feel sorry for the guy in the iPhone commercials. He always gets a call right in the middle of trying to do something" (one1).

Jul 24, 2008, 10:57 PM	#7
KingYaba macrumors 68040 Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Stuck in a rut...	^ They should save a lot of money and forgo the Mac Pro. __________________ Texas: illegally acquired; universally admired.

Jul 24, 2008, 11:01 PM	#8
intel macrumors member Join Date: Aug 2005	Sweeeeeet With a system like that, I could download ALL the porn on the internet. That thing can probably simulate sex in space. I bet they are simulating the effect of copultion in zero gravity as we speak, followed by what it would be like on Mercury. Gee, Some reserach that would be. Barnie Stinsen is in charge of that department. He holds the record for the most theme park rides and the deapest underwater experience. Many have died trying new things. Thank God for the mac and it's research potential. Many lives could be saved.

Jul 24, 2008, 10:53 PM	#4
SandersHokie macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jun 2006	yeah baby, my alma mater

Jul 24, 2008, 10:54 PM	#6
Chaos123x macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jul 2008	They should wait untill Nehalem before spending all that money.

Jul 24, 2008, 11:07 PM	#12
jdreher macrumors newbie Join Date: Apr 2007	but how snappy, exactly, does this make safari?

Jul 24, 2008, 11:12 PM	#16
Rocketman macrumors 68020 Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Claremont, CA	This is the software dev prototype for the 2011 Intel chip mega-core Mac-Mini. I don't want a picture of the cluster, I want a log-in. Rocketman __________________ Think Different-ly! Looking for an iPhone dev with way too much time on her hands for BASIC programs I have.

Jul 24, 2008, 11:22 PM	#17
kabunaru Guest Join Date: Jan 2008	Can the Mac Pro super-computer max out Crysis? That's the question.

Jul 24, 2008, 11:24 PM	#18
rockinrocker macrumors 6502a Join Date: Aug 2006	what i'm wondering is what kind of latency they're getting in cubase.... __________________ Mac Pro 2.8 dual quad Macbook Core Duo 16 gig 3G

Jul 24, 2008, 11:33 PM	#20
Auzburner macrumors 6502a Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Syracuse, NY - USA	I really love when they do this type of stuff! I remember back when it was done with the G5's. Sweet... __________________ White MacBook+2.0GHz C2D+2GB+320GB 7200RPM-G3PowerPC-8GB iPhone -8GB iPod Touch-W iPhone 3G 16GB -160GB TV-2iPod Mini's-White iPhone 3G S⃣

Jul 24, 2008, 11:48 PM	#22
puckhead193 macrumors 601 Join Date: May 2004 Location: NY	this would be nice to have when rendering HD video in FCP __________________ 20" iMac C2D - 2.33GHz, 3 GB ram, ATI X1600 256 MB VRAM 15" pb 1.5 GHZ Rev. C 30 gig ipod 3rd gen, 60 gig 5g ipod ~ white, silver 2GB nano, 64 gig iPod Touch

Jul 24, 2008, 11:57 PM	#24
cloudnine Banned Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: San Francisco, CA	I'd hate to see that electric bill :P

Jul 25, 2008, 12:03 AM	#25
noodle654 macrumors 68000 Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Princeton, NJ	Good lord! LET ME PLAY BROTHERS IN ARMS: HELLS HIGHWAY ON IT!!! __________________ MacBook Pro 2.2GHz, 120GB HD, 4GB RAM\| Mac Mini C2D 1.83GHz, 80GB HD, 2GB RAM \| MacBook Air 1.86GHz, 128GB SSD \| iPhone 3G S⃣ 32GB

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