Network Computing is part of the Informa Tech Division of Informa PLC

This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.

Software Could Simplify Development Of Embedded 'Super Systems': Page 2 of 2

Engineers at FoundryNetworks said they shaved six months and several million dollars from the development process for the new switch, which is reportedly being used in Sandia National Laboratories' new 40-teraflop Red Storm supercomputer. Foundry engineers said the new software was an aid in the development of the chassis-based switch, which can incorporate up to eight line cards, two management cards and two switch fabric cards.

Analysts said the virtualization process could change the tried-and-true methods employed in development of such complex embedded systems. "There's tremendous value in this," said Jim Duggan, vice president and research team leader for application development at Gartner, Inc. (Raleigh, N.C.). "It gives companies the ability to shift beyond the old practice, where everything was built in small blocks, to a process where they can virtualize a lot of the engineering. Using this, they can get a better idea of the overall system behavior before they start cutting tin."

Duggan said the technology could have a profound impact, but only if experienced developers are willing to move beyond traditional practices. "The building of embedded software hasn't changed a lot in the last 20 years," Duggan said. "For many, it remains a form of wizardry. For this to take off, developers will have to move beyond that."