Topspin Offers Up InfiniBand For High-Performance Apps

Topspin introduced its model 270 InfiniBand server switch Monday at the Storage Networking World conference in Phoenix, and is aiming the new box at high-end, high-performance server clusters.

The Topspin 270 supports combinations of up to 32 12X (30-gigabit per second) or 96 4X (10-Gbps) InfiniBand connections in a 6U chassis, the vendor said. In addition, Topspin said Dell, IBM, and NEC will OEM the 270 for their own InfiniBand offerings.

But the connection volume of the Topspin 270 should be sufficient to meet the needs of today's high-performance computing (HPC) needs. According to a recent IDC survey, 82 percent of all HPC clusters are 96 ports or less. "We looked at 144- and 288-port building blocks and we found they weren't as economical for large clusters," said Stu Aaroan, vice president of marketing and product manager for Topspin "96 was optimal for just about all clusters."