Developed in conjunction with hardware and software vendors, the Intel Cluster Ready program
simplifies buying, deploying, and managing a high-performance computing (HPC) cluster. Intel
Cluster Ready helps to ensure application and component interoperability from the moment
you power up the cluster through the lifetime of the system.
Why Intel Cluster Ready?
Find the right configuration, right away.
Take the complexity out of purchasing an HPC cluster. Choose a certified Intel Cluster Ready
system to reduce the time and risk of selecting a collection of independent hardware
components for your applications. Certified Intel Cluster Ready systems have been thoroughly
tested to ensure component interoperability.
Jean Shih, President – “Being part of the Intel® Cluster Ready program allows acma to accelerate the introduction of clusters to more commercial, government, and academic users with less cluster expertise, who will now be able to leverage the superior price/performance ratio of Intel-based energy-efficient HPC clusters for their research and simulations.”
Know that it works.
Select a certified Intel Cluster Ready system for your registered Intel Cluster Ready applications so you can be confident that hardware and software components will work together, right out of the box. Software tools such as Intel® Cluster Checker help ensure that those components continue to work together, delivering a high level of quality and a low total cost of ownership over
the course of the cluster’s lifetime.
Solve new problems.
Capitalize on the power of an Intel processor–based HPC cluster to enhance productivity and solve new problems. Intel Cluster Ready helps you realize HPC benefits faster by ensuring application and system interoperability.
How does it work?
Laying the foundation—Intel Cluster Ready Specification
Working with HPC ecosystem partners, Intel has defined the Intel Cluster Ready Specification—a common basis for building clusters and registering applications for HPC. The specification—which includes requirements for hardware, software, manageability, and functionality—helps to make sure that each cluster component conforms to industry standards or, if no standard exists, best-of-class practices. Intel provides the specification to hardware vendors, software vendors, and systems integrators so they can build certified Intel Cluster Ready clusters and develop registered Intel Cluster Ready applications.
Simplification of HPC Operations
ACMA’s Helios 4100 Series Intel® Cluster Ready certified
cluster solution provides end customers with increased productivity, faster time-to-results, an improved operating experience from initial power-on through continuing production operations, and reduced support effort and costs. The Intel certification also simplifies cluster management and application deployment for end customers. |
By creating a common basis for clusters, the Intel Cluster Ready Specification also gives you the flexibility to customize your system based on your specific needs. Choose from a variety of hardware and software components that conform to the specification when you are first deploying the cluster or make modifications as your requirements change.
Ensuring interoperability—Certified Intel Cluster Ready clusters.
Intel facilitates component interoperability by working with hardware vendors and systems integrators to assemble the right combination of components for HPC clusters. A “certified” cluster is a system built according to the Intel Cluster Ready Specification that has been rigorously tested for component interoperability.
Source. IDC, Worldwide High-Performance and Technical Computing
Server 2008–2012 Forecast, 2008
Making it simpler to buy an HPC cluster
Validating applications—Registered Intel Cluster Ready
applications
A “registered” Intel Cluster Ready application is one that
has been validated on a certified Intel Cluster Ready
cluster. To register an application, either Intel or an Intel
partner demonstrates that the software can run realworld
workloads successfully on a certified cluster. When
the software successfully passes the test, Intel issues the
Intel Cluster Ready registration to the software vendor
and posts the application version and requirements on a
public Web page.
James Huang, Product Marketing Manager– “The Intel® Cluster Ready program makes it easier for
end users to acquire and deploy high-performance computing
(HPC) clusters built with Intel components and to
integrate HPC software applications. Our customers can
buy a cluster with confidence.”
Because registered Intel Cluster Ready applications
are all developed to run on clusters with the same base
specification, you can run multiple registered applications
on the same certified Intel Cluster Ready cluster without
having to rebuild the software stack or reconfigure
the hardware. Run different applications on different
days. You can optimize your HPC resources and enhance
productivity without adding costs or complexity.
Making it simpler to buy an HPC cluster
ACMA, the number one server and storage system builder
in North America, launched an online Intel® Cluster Ready
inquiry forum to dramatically simplify the process of buying
an HPC cluster. This tool allows customers to select the processors,
memory, hard drives, and secondary switching fabrics
they need, and send in an instant request for a same-day
response cluster quotation. No matter what components customers
choose, the cluster remains within ICR certification. |
Expanding your infrastructure—Intel Cluster Ready recipes Systems integrators build “recipes” with certified Intel
Cluster Ready clusters and registered software. Using
a recipe, you can create an exact copy of the cluster to
expand your HPC infrastructure or deploy a cluster for
another business group. Because the new cluster is Intel
Cluster Ready, you can be confident that hardware and
software will work together as they should.
Simplifying management—Intel Cluster Checker
Intel Cluster Checker is an essential software management
tool that helps make sure system components continue
to work together over the lifetime of the cluster. Provided free with all certified Intel Cluster Ready clusters, Intel
Cluster Checker analyzes the cluster’s configuration to
be certain it remains within certification. If a software
update causes software conflicts or a cable comes loose,
Intel Cluster Checker can identify the problem quickly and
provide detailed diagnostic information.
Use Intel Cluster Checker to dramatically reduce the
time spent troubleshooting and minimize the need
for specialized support skills. Run Intel Cluster Checker
regularly to enhance system reliability and ensure
optimal performance.
For more information, visit www.intel.com/go/cluster to discover which applications are Intel Cluster
Ready and where to buy a certified Intel Cluster
Ready cluster.
For more information on the ACMA Helios 4100
Series HPC Cluster, visit www.acma.com/acma/CS_4100.asp,
and see for yourself how ACMA ’s Intel Cluster Ready
certified cluster can benefit you. |
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