SGI announces scalable workgroup cluster

August 7, 2009:SGI has announced a new generation of scalable workgroup clusters for HPC, graphics and Internet applications, the CloudRack X2.

They promise extreme density and power distribution efficiency in a small, 5-square-foot form factor. This enables a broad range of new deployment scenarios, including to workgroups, laboratories and traditional HPC environments either as a stand-alone unit mounted on casters for in-lab use or installed in industry-standard, 19-inch racks—especially valuable for heterogeneous computing environments.

CloudRack X2 represents the first time that CloudRack trays are available in HPC-dedicated configurations. The new system now supports high-performance processors and high-speed interconnects, including 40 Gb/sec InfiniBand.

“The CloudRack X2 is a workgroup cluster done right,” said Mark J. Barrenechea, president and CEO of SGI.

“Customers can scale at 24 or 216 core increments, with support for low- to high-power processors, and incorporate high-end graphics or GP-GPU processing, if needed.”