Scale MP Extends Clustering

CUPERTINO, Calif. -- ScaleMP, a leading provider of virtualization solutions for high-end computing, today announced the expansion of its vSMP Foundation software to support larger memory configurations and a new large cluster licensing option.

vSMP Foundation aggregates multiple industry-standard off-the-shelf x86 servers (rack mounted or blade systems) into one single virtual high-end system for the High-Performance Computing (HPC) market. vSMP Foundation provides customers with an alternative to traditional, expensive symmetrical multiprocessor (SMP) systems and also offers simplified clustering infrastructure with a single operating system. It currently allows customers to create a single virtual SMP system with up to 32 sockets (128 cores) and up to 1 TB of shared memory in an energy-efficient, dense package.

ScaleMP is expanding its product line by introducing two new offerings targeted at the traditional SMP customers as well as cluster deployments. Some examples of the platforms that are supported by these new product extensions are the Dell PowerEdge M1000e Modular Blade Enclosure, HP BladeSystem c3000 and c7000 enclosures, and the Sun Blade 6000 Modular System. The new offerings are:

Large memory support option: This add-on option expands the shared memory capacity to 4 TB of RAM. It allows customers needing traditional SMP systems with large memory requirement to migrate to a virtual x86 SMP platform, significantly reducing their capital expenditures (CAPEX). It also allows existing vSMP Foundation customers to run larger memory configuration with minimal investment.

Cluster license option: This new value licensing option addresses large cluster deployments where IT managers are seeking to simplify their compute and storage infrastructure. It turns a compute cluster into a fat-node cluster, by reducing the number of managed nodes, while increasing the size of each one. Each of these fat-nodes utilizes ScaleMP’s virtualization technology to run a single operating system with high core-count and larger shared-memory.“IDC research consistently shows that cluster complexity and limited bandwidth are crucial issues for many HPC users today,” said Earl Joseph, IDC program vice president for technical systems. “The ScaleMP virtual SMP solution, which is being expanded to as much as 128 cores and 4 terabytes of shared memory, aims to alleviate these issues.”

ScaleMP Inc.