Microsystems, Inc. Sun on Fire Servers :)

Press Releases: Sun Microsystems Sets World Records for MCAE Applications on AMD Opteron(TM) Processor-based Sun Fire(TM) Servers
Posted by: Chris_Tom on Apr 19, 2006 - 10:54 AM
Servers
SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 19 -- Sun
Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW) today announced that the Sun Fire(TM)
X2100 servers have set two new world-record benchmarks for real-world
mechanical computer-aided engineering (MCAE) applications. The Sun Fire
X2100 server, powered by AMD Opteron(TM) processors, is one of Sun's newest
x64 (x86, 64-bit) servers and is the fastest single-socket server available
with an already impressive portfolio of benchmarks. It also gives users a
flexibility of operating environments, allowing them to run the Solaris(TM)
10 Operating System (OS), Linux or Windows.
"Sun recognizes that manufacturing companies are always striving to get
products to market as quickly as possible. Sun is responding to these
market demands by designing x64 servers that can enable manufacturers to
reduce development costs, speed time-to-market and deliver truly innovative
products," said Bjorn Andersson, director of HPC and Grid Computing for Sun
Microsystems. "Our new world records highlight the Sun Fire X2100 server's
industry-leading capabilities and performance of numerically intense
applications, which are critical for designing better and safer products.
Furthermore, companies can take advantage of the Sun Grid Rack System to
get clusters of Sun Fire X2100 servers that are ready-to-deploy, saving
time and lowering risk in large-scale system installations."

Sun Fire Servers with New AMD Opteron Processors Continue to Deliver
Best Performance
Keeping up the record-setting trend started by a 16-node cluster of Sun
Fire X2100 servers on EXA's PowerFLOW CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics)
application(1), the 32-node cluster -- now powered by AMD's Opteron Model
156 processor, the highest-performing single-core AMD Opteron 100 series
processor -- set two new world records on LS-DYNA and Fluent benchmarks.
These benchmarks are based on the popular versions of the respective MCAE
applications heavily used in the automotive, aerospace and consumer
products industries. Sun is the first vendor to publish results on a system
that is based on streamlined, high-performance, single-socket servers used
as quintessential cost-effective building blocks, which were running 64-bit
SuSE Linux (SLES9) and interconnected using Cisco InfiniBand technology.
This combination resulted in a world record performance on LS-DYNA
crash simulation code, which is used in the automotive industries worldwide
and consists of two standardized benchmark problems: "Neon_Refined" and a
much larger "3 Vehicle Collision." Sun's system surpassed all published
results, ranging from one to 32 processors, that were posted by various
hardware vendors, while maintaining superb scalability with the increasing
size of the cluster(2). The scalability of these codes is non-linear as the
size of the cluster is growing, with the typical sweet spot of 16
processors, where Sun's solution maintained 80% efficiency(3).
Additionally, on the "Neon Refined" benchmark, the 16 Sun Fire X2100
servers are 17% faster than the same size HP system, based on HP ProLiant
DL145 servers; 29% quicker than the IBM system, based on eServer 326 and
Myrinet interconnect; and 56% speedier than the Itanium2-powered HP system,
based on Integrity rx2600 Servers(4).
Fluent software is used for solving fluid flow problems and is based on
a numerical technique called computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The FLUENT
benchmark suite is divided into three varying in size classes: Small,
Medium and Large. The 32-node cluster of Sun Fire X2100 servers has the
best performance ever reported on this benchmark, across all three
classes(5). For the same size of the cluster, Sun's solution performs
better than the IBM BladeCenter system, based on LS20 blades equipped with
AMD Opteron processors and Myrinet low latency interconnect. When compared
to the systems based on Intel Xeon EM64T processors, the high-performance,
single-socket servers from Sun are swifter than the IBM eServer x336-based
solution, beat the HP ProLiant DL 360-based cluster and trump Dell's
offering, based on PowerEdge 1855 servers.
Additional information on the Sun Fire x64 benchmarks can be found at:
http://www.sun.com/x64/benchmarks/
For more information on Sun Fire x64 servers, including pricing and
availability, please visit: http://www.sun.com/x64 .
The Sun(TM) Grid Rack System provides Sun Fire servers, interconnect
and management infrastructure into integrated racks, directly from Sun's
factory. Visit http://www.sun.com/servers/sungridracksystem/configtool/ for
more information on how to configure a Sun Grid Rack System.
About Sun Microsystems, Inc.
A singular vision -- "The Network Is The Computer" -- guides Sun in the
development of technologies that power the world's most important markets.
Sun's philosophy of sharing innovation and building communities is at the
forefront of the next wave of computing: the Participation Age. Sun can be
found in more than 100 countries and on the Web at http://sun.com .
NOTE: Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo, Sun Fire, Solaris, Sun Grid
Rack System and The Network Is The Computer are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other
countries. AMD and AMD Opteron are trademarks or registered trademarks of
Advanced Micro Devices.
(1) Details available at
http://www.sun.com/servers/entry/x2100/benchmarks.jsp#question00
(2) As of 4/17/06, results are available at
http://www.topcrunch.org/benchmark_results.sfe
(3) Neon_Refined Model: 1 processor time is 9222 sec., efficiency is
100.00%; 2 processor time is 4629 sec., efficiency is 94.25%; 4 processor
time is 2446 sec., efficiency is 94.25%; 8 processor time is 1283 sec.,
efficiency is 89.85%; 16 processor time is 703 sec., efficiency is 81.99%.
(4) Sun Fire X2100 cluster: Time - 703 sec.; HP CP4000 cluster,
ProLiant DL145: Time - 822 sec.; IBM eServer 326 cluster: Time - 911 sec.;
HP CP6000 cluster, Integrity rx2600 cluster: Time - 1101 sec.
(5) As of 4/17/06, results are available at
http://www.fluent.com/software/fluent/fl5bench/flbench_6.2/fullres.htm