Linux Networx Sets Visualization World Record By Tripling Previous Rendering Rate

Linux Network has achieved several major visualization records. The system achieved a rendering rate of 1.5 billion polygons per second while running Computational Engineering International’s (CEI) EnSight DR – three times the previous rendering record. In addition, when the system’s GPU count was doubled it achieved a maximum of 3.23x performance increase, a phenomenon known as superlinear scaling. Additionally, a record 589 million polygon model was processed – the largest ever for EnSight DR – enabling extremely large data sets to be visualized in their entirety, thereby substantially enhancing the price/performance of the system. The system is currently being delivered to the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and is the first production visualization cluster ever ordered under the Department of Defense’s (DoD) High Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCMP).

“We’re proud that EnSight DR running on Linux Networx Supersystems achieved this significant performance landmark,” says Darin McKinnis, vice president of marketing and sales for CEI, maker of EnSight and other products for extreme visualization and meshing. “This is proof of EnSight DR’s unique ability to exploit the distributed memory capacity of networked systems containing high-performance graphics cards, enabling users to handle datasets and display sizes well beyond other commercial and research applications.”

“We’re committed to helping our customers solve their most challenging supercomputing problems,” said Robert “Bo” Ewald, CEO of Linux Networx. “This latest visualization system takes the most complex visualization model available today and runs it as smoothly and simply as if it were a screen-saver on your desktop. That’s yet another example of the power and price/performance that Linux Networx offers our customers in every supercomputer that we deliver.”

Linux Networx LS-V Visual Supersystems deliver the ultimate visualization power and work throughput in the high performance visualization industry. LS-V Visual Supersystems double the performance of legacy visualization computers at half of their cost. With its comprehensive integration, tuned applications, superior graphics and computational power, lower operational and management costs, and reduced system complexity, the application-tuned LS-V delivers leading Total Application Throughput and reduced Total Cost of Ownership for visualization solutions. The system that set the visualization record features 64 Linux Networx visualization nodes with 128 AMD Model 280 Dual-Core processors. Each node features two Graphics Processing Units. The system has 1,024 GB of total RAM, an InfiniBand interconnect, and includes Ensight DR Version 8, RedHat Enterprise Linux, Linux Networx Clusterworx Management Suite and Linux Networx Host Failover Solution.

EnSight DR performs distributed rendering for analyzing, visualizing and communicating high-end scientific and engineering data sets. The data models used represent one time step of a very high resolution simulation of the resultant compressible turbulence that occurs when a shockwave passes through the interface of two fluids. The original work to produce this model was conducted at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

For over a decade Linux Networx has delivered Linux Supercomputers specifically designed to drive new levels of Total Application Throughput for our customers. The company’s Linux Supercomputing offerings power value in application-tuned price/performance and utilization, overall system reliability, uptime and Total Cost of Operations. The company has delivered over 500 supercomputing systems to more than 200 supercomputing customers around the world. In 2005, the company achieved record growth in orders. Our global customer base represents supercomputing leaders ranging from Boeing in aerospace; BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Audi, Caterpillar and John Deere in heavy manufacturing; Total, Schlumberger and Shell Oil in the Oil and Gas industry; and Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories and the Department of Defense in the government arena. In 2005 the company was awarded three HPCWire Editor and Reader’s Choice Awards – for Most Innovative Technology in two categories and for Best Price/Performance. For more information about Linux Networx, visit www.linuxnetworx.com.