Supercomputing Institute Research Bulletin Summer 1997

Supercomputing Institute Acquires Silicon Graphics/Cray Research Origin 2000

Systems Administrator Erik Jacobson prepares to install the new Origin 2000 As part of its current process of diversifying the high-performance computing resources available to the University of Minnesota research community, the Supercomputing Institute recently announced the acquisition of a Silicon Graphics/Cray Research Origin 2000. This symmetric-multiple-processor (SMP) machine, which will be available to researchers in late-summer 1997, has 32 processors with 8 gigabytes of memory and is upgradeable to 128 processors. The per processor performance level for this machine is 390 megaflops and the memory bandwidth is 0.8 gigabytes per second. This machine features: a cache coherent, shared-memory, single-system architecture which is scalable to 128 CMOS MIPS RISC R-1000 processors tools for the development of shared-memory, data parallel, and message-passing applications The acquisition of this state-of-the-art machine, which is housed at the Supercomputing Institute in Minneapolis, is the culmination of a six-month effort on the part of the Institute’s SMP Initiative Steering Committee. This committee is chaired by Vipin Kumar, Computer Sciences, and includes Graham Candler, Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics; Christopher Cramer, Chemistry; John Lowengrub, Mathematics; Yousef Saad, Computer Science; and David Yuen, Geology and Geophysics. The acquisition of this machine also reflects a significant effort on the part of Silicon Graphics/Cray Research to become a partner in the Institute’s SMP initiative. The Institute would like to thank Thomas Stanley, Diane Gibson, and Keith Elzia of Silicon Graphics/Cray Research for their help and commitment to furthering the research objectives of the Institute. In addition, the Institute would like to thank Karen Triplett, Director of Purchasing at the University of Minnesota, for her help and guidance. – Michael Olesen

In This Issue: 1997 Summer Undergraduate Intern Program Relational Drug Design Workshop Rayleigh-Taylor Instability How Alumina Phases Impact the Ruby Scale Turbulent Flow and Hypersonic Vehicles > Origin 2000 Arrives Seminar Synopses Research Reports