University of Utah's biomedical research cluster planned to include 1000 AMD Opteron processors

Sunnyvale 04 September 2003The University of Utah has selected AMD Opteron processor-based systems from Angstrom Microsystems for a new supercomputing cluster scheduled to be delivered by October 2003. The 500-node cluster is designed to use 1000 AMD Opteron processors and is part of the University's plan to provide the vast computational power needed in its biomedical research. The cluster, code named "Arches" will enable advanced genetic and biomedical research. Research activities are expected to include working to identify the causes of inherited cancers and other diseases attributed to multiple genes.

Researchers are also expected to use Arches for looking at how the body absorbs drugs in an effort to improve treatment of various ailments. The cluster, which is expected to be the largest computer in the state of Utah for scientific research will be the combined product of five clusters comprised of varying numbers of nodes and processors.

"We chose the AMD Opteron processor because we recognize its capabilities in enhancing the performance of our scientific computing applications", stated Julio Facelli, director of the Center for High Performance Computing at the University of Utah. "The new system from Angstrom will help us to deeper analyse our extensive amount of biomedical data as well as perform even more complex and advanced simulations."

To develop the Arches cluster, the Center for High Performance Computing at the University of Utah received a grant from the National Institute of Health's National Center for Research Resources. The cluster will be built with the AMD Opteron processor-based Angstrom Titan64 Superblades that combine industry-leading 32-bit performance for x86 applications with the increased computing power of 64 bits.

"The drive toward more important medical discoveries and cures creates insatiable demand for more powerful and reliable computing solutions", stated Marty Seyer, vice president and general manager of the Microprocessor Business Unit at AMD. "With the AMD Opteron processor and Angstrom Microsystems solution, AMD is helping meet this demand by providing the unmatched flexibility of simultaneous 32- and 64-bit computing power to medical scientists who need to take their critical research to the next level."

"Angstrom Microsystems is excited to work with the University of Utah and AMD in this latest AMD Opteron processor-based cluster deployment", stated Lailit Jain, CEO, Angstrom Microsystems. "The Arches cluster is another great example of how Angstrom and AMD together are delivering mission-critical solutions to research institutions that demand impressive computational power and reliability."

Founded in 1969, AMD is a global supplier of integrated circuits for the personal and networked computer and communications markets with manufacturing facilities in the United States, Europe, Japan, and Asia. AMD produces microprocessors, Flash memory devices, and silicon-based solutions for communications and networking applications.

Leslie Versweyveld

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