Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Subscribe
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Subscribe
    Home Cloud
    • Cloud
    • Networking
    • PC Hardware
    • Storage

    Intel Pushes Workstation Clusters for HPC Needs of ‘Missing Middle’

    Written by

    Jeff Burt
    Published September 14, 2010
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

      SAN FRANCISCO-Intel is running an internal pilot program to show that workstations can be clustered together to give businesses and institutions access of HPC levels of compute power that normally they would not have.

      The idea is to give what is becoming known as the “missing middle”-those businesses and researchers whose workloads demand high compute power but don’t have the money or access to HPC (high-performance computing) environments-the capabilities they need for their work.

      “In each segment of the marketplace … we’re seeing a trend for the need for high-performance computing,” John Hengeveld, director of technical compute marketing for Intel’s Data Center Group said in an interview here at the Intel Developer Forum.

      The pilot is being run by silicon design teams inside Intel, said Shesha Krishnapura, senior principal engineer for Intel’s IT Engineering Group.

      Krishnapura said that Intel runs more than 100,000 servers, 60,000 of which are used for silicon design by about 20,000 silicon design engineers. Most of those 60,000 are multicore systems.

      The design teams are located in multiple sites all over the world, and not every site has access to a local data center, he said. The problems that arise are ones of latency and space, Krishnapura said. As the workloads grow, more pressure is put on the data centers. In addition, with the kind of work the designers do, latency of 10 milliseconds or more can have a significant negative impact on the work.

      When the servers in the data center start hitting capacity, the natural trend is to build more space, he said. And the latency is always a worry.

      So for the past six months, Intel has been working with the design team on a concept officials are calling CCC, or Cubicle Clustered Computing. Traditionally, engineers use high-end laptops to access back-end blade servers, Krishnapura said. In the CCC pilot, workstations that are configured to the exact specifications as the servers. Those workstations are placed in each cubicle and secured so there can be no physical access.

      The engineers then access the compute power of the workstations, housed locally, rather than servers that are in data centers farther away.

      “The network latency [issue] is gone, because [the workstation] is local,” Krishnapura said.

      At the same time, the workstations can be combined into a clustered environment, giving the engineers the compute power they need. The data storage is still done in the data centers, for security reasons, but the compute power is in the workstations. The systems support the IPMI management specification and can be managed remotely.

      In addition, space in the data center is saved. For example, rather than housing 48 blade servers in a rack, the 48 workstations are distributed throughout the office.

      Hengeveld said such an environment could be a boon for businesses in a host of areas-including financial services, oil and gas, and fluid dynamics-that are seeing a growing need for access to large amounts of compute power, but may not have the means to get it.

      Having that local compute power also will be important as the industry continues it move to exascale computing. Few people will have access to the first exascale system, but once such systems are more widely deployed, with 40 or 50 out there, businesses and researchers will need local compute power to crunch that data that they get from the exascale systems, he said.

      The Intel pilot involves about 200 engineers in five sites around the world, Krishnapura said. Hengeveld said the pilot has worked well, and now Intel is looking to get the concept into the industry.

      “We’re talking about this as a viable idea for the missing middle,” Hengeveld said.

      Jeff Burt
      Jeff Burt
      Jeffrey Burt has been with eWEEK since 2000, covering an array of areas that includes servers, networking, PCs, processors, converged infrastructure, unified communications and the Internet of things.

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Artificial Intelligence

      9 Best AI 3D Generators You Need...

      Sam Rinko - June 25, 2024 0
      AI 3D Generators are powerful tools for many different industries. Discover the best AI 3D Generators, and learn which is best for your specific use case.
      Read more
      Cloud

      RingCentral Expands Its Collaboration Platform

      Zeus Kerravala - November 22, 2023 0
      RingCentral adds AI-enabled contact center and hybrid event products to its suite of collaboration services.
      Read more
      Artificial Intelligence

      8 Best AI Data Analytics Software &...

      Aminu Abdullahi - January 18, 2024 0
      Learn the top AI data analytics software to use. Compare AI data analytics solutions & features to make the best choice for your business.
      Read more
      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Video

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2024 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.