Recognizing the demand for more widespread adoption of high
performance computing (HPC), Platform
Computing released an upgrade to its Platform HPC management tool designed
to make it easier for technical users to harness the power and scalability of
HPC clusters.
The upgrade, based on Platform's leading workload scheduler
product, Platform LSF, has been redesigned with a new Web interface that
simplifies the provisioning, workload management, reporting and monitoring
associated with managing and deploying HPC clusters. Platform HPC's
new interface also makes the application integration process easier, allowing
users to focus on their workloads and tasks as opposed to the technical work of
managing their cluster environment.
With the adoption of grid computing and cloud computing on
the rise, there will be increasing demand for HPC management software to help
companies efficiently exploit the new computing capacity, according to Earl
Joseph, program vice president for HPC at International
Data Corp. Joseph said the market for HPC application software and
middleware exceeded $2.3 billion in 2009 and he expects it to approach $3
billion in 2013.
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According to Ken Hertzler, Platform Computing's vice president of product management, the new release solves two big problems surrounding HPC use-expanding the use of HPC technology to small and mid-size companies and streamlining the process of submitting application workloads to the cluster. "Users in small and medium-sized companies and departments tend to be experts in their applications, not in setting up a cluster," Hertzler explains. "This is all about how we can make it easier for them to get clusters set up ... along with application integration, which is a big focus in this release."
More than just a software stack, Platform HPC is a fully integrated, certified and supported platform sold through Channel partners and aimed at vertical industries such as manufacturing, oil and gas, energy, government, life sciences and research. In addition to the newly-enhanced Web-based user interface, the upgrade offers features for improved application support, including job submission templates for commonly-used commercial applications such as CAE tools along with scripting guidelines for simplified job submission. There is also new support for GPU job scheduling and expanded GPU monitoring. Platform HPC is also the only HPC management product with a single installer, ensuring simplified cluster configuration and application integration, Hertzler says.
"This release unifies the interface across components-this is no longer a bundle of products," he adds. "This is all pre-integrated and certified as a single product, delivering an end-to-end management framework for running and managing HPC clusters."