From:	 Scott McKeen <smckeen@SHEAHEDGES.com>
To:	 "'lwn@lwn.net'" <lwn@lwn.net>
Subject: Scyld Delivers Out Of The Box Beowulf Clustering.
Date:	 Wed, 18 Jul 2001 11:20:35 -0400

SCYLD COMPUTING DELIVERS THE ONLY AVAILABLE
 OUT OF THE BOX HIGH PERFORMANCE CLUSTERING  SOLUTION
	Scyld Computing Corporation Releases Latest Professional Version 
	Of Next Generation Beowulf Clustering
	
ANNAPOLIS, MD (July 18, 2001) - Scyld Computing Corporation today released
the Scyld Beowulf Professional Edition, the latest version of its next
generation cluster operating system software.  Professional Scyld Beowulf
greatly simplifies cluster setup, integration and administration, while
providing seamless scalability.  Coupled with documentation and support from
the original Beowulf development team, Professional Scyld Beowulf provides
the first true clustering solution that can be installed and run directly
out of the box.

Beowulf cluster systems connect a series of computers together, using a
modified version of Linux, to form a parallel processing supercomputer.  The
Scyld Beowulf Operating System improves upon traditional Beowulf clusters as
all operations performed on the linked cluster nodes are initiated and
administered through a single master node. Its Single System Image (SSI)
design makes the cluster act and feel like a single computer.  This
drastically simplifies maintenance and eliminates common pitfalls of
clustering such as version skew and runaway jobs.  Scyld Beowulf only needs
to be installed on one master node and will run clusters of hundreds of
compute nodes.  Professional Scyld Beowulf is a complete software system.
No other software is required to create the cluster.  

For industries such as energy, biotechnology and finance, there is growing
commercial demand for High Performance Computing (HPC) clusters. Companies
are looking for more cost-effective ways to analyze enormous amounts of
data. One example of this demand is in the petroleum industry, where 3-D
seismic modeling is used to locate oil fields. Because large amounts of data
must be processed to create an image of a complex geology, seismic modeling
is a very compute-intensive process.  Such imaging turns raw, unprocessed
data into a coherent image that accurately depicts the situation below the
earth's surface, saving millions in reduced exploration and drilling costs
and improved production.  

Scyld Beowulf has distinct price advantages over traditional Symmetric
Multiprocessing (SMP) or vector supercomputers.  Using commodity servers and
hardware components, a Scyld Beowulf based system can provide the same
amount of computing power at 10%-50% of the cost.  Continued savings are
realized by 
the reduced costs of supporting a broad-based operating system as compared
to the expensive maintenance contracts required for proprietary operating
systems of traditional SMP or vector supercomputers.  Companies can save
even more by leveraging their existing hardware and installing Scyld
Beowulf, allowing them to set up a cluster system for a fraction of the cost
of traditional solutions. In addition, Scyld Beowulf's simplified master
node installation and administration eliminates the administrative costs and
potential risks inherent in other HPC clusters that require nodes to be
administered separately.

Donald Becker, Scyld's founder and Chief Technology Officer, and other Scyld
developers were the original architects of Beowulf computing while working
at NASA as research scientists.  That same team has improved and adapted the
technology for the commercial market, using the same exacting standards for
software engineering, development, quality control, test methodologies and
support that NASA uses to ensure successful missions.  The result is
Professional Scyld Beowulf.

"Our mission at Scyld is to create software that will bring cost effective,
easily managed, high-performance computing to the commercial marketplace",
said Becker.  "The new features in this release  add significantly to our
existing standard upon which high performance cluster applications have been
developed.  This new release  will further stimulate deployment of turn-key
commercial applications".

Scyld has formed and is in the process of forming partnerships and alliances
with many clustering industry leaders including, Compaq, Arrow/Wyle, API,
Penguin Computing, GIGABYTE Server Group, PSSC Labs, Aspen Systems, Atipa
Technologies, RLX Technologies, CFI, Racksaver, eLinux, Cendio Systems,
Western Scientific, VA Linux, and Myricom, amongst others.  Scyld works
closely with its partner's hardware systems to certify seamless operation of
hardware platforms such as Compaq's Proliant DL380 and DL360 servers,
Compaq's DS10 series AlphaServers, API's CS20 and UP2000+, Penguin
Computing's servers, RLX Technologies' System 324 Blade technology, and
Intel's ServerBoards.  In addition, Scyld has partnerships and alliances
with traditional parallel application and tool providers such as, MPI
Software Technology Inc., Veridian PBS-Pro, Wolfram Mathematica, NAG,
Absoft, Lahey, Backbone Networks, NAMD, CHARMM, and TurboGenomics.  Scyld
has a formal channel program to authorize and train value added resellers to
provide off-the-shelf, fully integrated and supported turn-key cluster
systems.

New enhancements on the latest Professional Version include, full Alpha
support including simplified installation tools, full Myrinet and Gigabit
Ethernet support, the Scyld Beowulf Batch Queue system (BBQ), automatic node
addition, web based administration and job monitoring, advanced hardware
health and status monitoring, Parallel Virtual File System (PVFS), NFSv3,
and ROMIO file systems,  library, and much more.  For detailed pricing and
more information visit the Scyld website at www.scyld.com.

Professional Scyld Beowulf comes bundled with one year of support from the
original development team and full documentation.  The professional
documentation set includes: Installation, System Administration, Users
Guide, and Programmers Reference information.  In addition, Scyld offers
Beowulf clustering certification training from the original Scyld Beowulf
developers.
 
	About Scyld Computing Corporation

Scyld Computing Corporation is the leading developer of next-generation
Beowulf cluster operating systems.  Donald Becker, founder and CTO, and
other Scyld developers are known in the Linux community for their extensive
contributions to the Linux kernel.  Based in Annapolis, Maryland, Scyld is a
privately held company. Further information may be obtained at
www.scyld.com.  Scyld Beowulf and Scyld Computing are registered trademarks
of Scyld Computing Corporation.  All other names and trademarks are the
property of their respective owners.

	About Beowulf

Beowulf, and Beowulf clustering are terms that describe a technique of
connecting commodity computers together using a modified version of Linux to
create a High Performance Computer. Started in 1993 by Donald Becker and
Thomas Sterling, early development was sponsored by NASA. In 1997 Beowulf
clusters broke the ten billion operations per second mark, and today can
perform over 200 billion operations per second. Today there are tens of
thousands of Beowulf clusters installed in government, educational and
commercial facilities. Beowulf is a descriptive service mark held by Linux
International.

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