| Dresden-Rossendorf Research Centre The complete reference as PDF >> |
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| Since 1992, the Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (FZD) has been engaged in basic and application-oriented research. The main topics are advanced materials, cancer research and nuclear safety research. It currently employs approximately 750 people. The research centre‘s work would be inconceivable without a high-performance system: Resource-intensive calculations and simulations are carried out every day and data generated from experiments are analysed. For the last eight years, the FZD has been using a high-performance cluster for these tasks. In 2009, the research centre decided to double the computing power of the existing cluster by implementing another cluster. The new cluster is mainly used for sequential and parallel calculations. The demands on processor computing performance and RAM, hard drive capacity and network performance are equally high. |
The current specifcations of the newly purchased transtec Hypnos HPC Cluster:
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"After a three-year successful collaboration with transtec, we expected the company to deliver a convincing concept for expanding our HPC infrastructure to meet the technical IT requirements of our researchers by applying the most innovative
resources. transtec‘s solution not only produced a high cluster computing performance but also offered the option of effciently integrating existing resources into our data centre. Our scientists can now carry out larger simulations which were up until
now not possible." Dr. Henrik Schulz, Head of HPC at FZD. |
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| TU Darmstadt The complete reference as PDF >> |
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Following its move from Bremen to its present location in 2005, the theoretical physical chemistry group of the Technical University of Darmstadt was faced with the task of creating a computing infrastructure with the high-performance necessary for carrying out computing-intensive simulations used in basic polymer research.
In addition to providing adequate computing power the solution should have high availability and scalability. |
The system consists of a dual Opteron master node with 2 GB RAM and 32 1-U dual Opteron compute nodes each with 1 GB RAM. The entire cluster is protected against power failure by a Powerware UPS unit. The cluster system was expanded to include ten 1-U dual-processor-capable nodes with 1 GB RAM. |
"Unlike other firms that submitted their tenders too late or not at all, transtec was generous with the time it devoted to our needs. We especially appreciated the on-site discussions with transtec’s IT specialists on compatibility issues and how to achieve an optimal configuration of the cluster system." Thomas Müller, project head for hardware |
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| STEAG AG The complete reference as PDF >> |
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| Electricity producers such as STEAG optimise software for their power generation services at so-called control centres. At these centres, individual applications are run on a cluster system which had caused power and performance problems at STEAG due to the old system still in use. | Performance optimisation and system availability are essential for power plants to be able to sell any excess generated capacities back to the electricity market. STEAG thus required reliable real-time operation and constant system availability. |
"It was important for us to receive a complete solution combining hardware, software and service. transtec met our requirement and also impressed us with their vast know-how." Achim Brinkmann, Head of Department, STEAG AG |
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| University of Applied Sciences in Graz The complete reference as PDF >> |
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| The ICG, an institute for the IT faculty at the University of Applied Sciences in Graz, is the only scientific institution in Austria which addresses both computer vision and computer graphics. The research at ICG is focused on computer graphics, computer and robotics vision in the industry, medical computer vision, object reconstruction and recognition. |
As various researchers at the ICG work on computer and storage intensive problems, the institute decided to expand its HPC environment.
The following transtec systems have been installed since May 2009 as centrally available high-performance computing servers and are successfully in use:
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"With transtec's high-performance systems, we could optimise larger models than previously and the results from simpler models are available faster. transtec has once again proved itself as a competent, flexible and reliable IT partner for this project." Professor Horst Bischof, University Professor at the ICG |
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| Freie Universität Berlin The complete reference as PDF >> |
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The seismic/seismology workgroup at the Freie Universität Berlin researches into the Earth's interior with the help of artificial and natural seismic waves. For this purpose, it developed a 3D imaging and modelling process which it applies in geotechnological and geodynamic projects on different depth scales. Two examples from the field of geotechnology: with the help of this process, a prediction range of up to 100 metres is possible during the build of the new Gotthard Basis Tunnel. Reservoirs up to five kilometres underground can be imaged and characterised. This is important when extracting petroleum and natural gas or for underground CO2 storage. By applying the process to geodynamic problems, the scientists want to improve research into the origin of large earthquakes. The Californian San-Andreas fault can thus be researched at a depth of ten kilometres and the Ocean plate under the South American Andes up to 100 kilometres. |
For a long time, the institute had to rely on reserving the necessary computing time and storage capacity either on the University's large mainframe computers or on the Beowulf cluster built by the institute. In the Spring of 2008, transtec installed a cluster with 13 Dual-Quad-core computing nodes and five Terabyte storage capacity. The plan is to expand this to 36 nodes by the start of 2009. With a total of 288 GB RAM, all the workgroup's calculations and simulations should be executed. In addition, 22 Linux workstations are in operation at the institute. |
"Our institute needs a reliable system with excellent computing power and a lot of storage capacity. We were impressed by transtec's expertise and the reliability of the hardware." "We were also extremely satisfied with transtec's consultation. In principle, we knew precisely what we needed in advance; but there was still room for optimisation. transtec recommended a 10 GB connection from the storage node to the switch which speeds up the data package transfer rate tenfold compared to a standard connection of just one Gigabit. We weren't sure if this was economically feasible. Thanks to the excellent advice we received from transtec, there was no danger of bottlenecking data transfer at this point." Dr. Stefan Buske, head of the seismic data laboratory at the Institute for Geological Sciences at the Freie Universität Berlin |
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| University of Rostock The complete reference as PDF >> |
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Prof. Ralf Ludwig‘s basic research in theoretical physical chemistry involves extremely CPU- and storage-intensive computer simulations. In fact, they are so demanding that using the university’s computing centre to carry them out was not feasible. Having a suitable cluster system at his disposal was the ideal solution but wiring together a cluster out of conventional PCs would result in a system that was vulnerable to failure and that would have a large maintenance overhead.
The challenge: A highly stable, readily scalable cluster system was needed that could run uninterrupted for months on end. In addition, it was to be capable of carrying out Prof. Ludwig‘s computations without costly and time-consuming modifications. |
transtec installed a 64-bit dual-Opteron HPC cluster system delivering a peak performance of 230 GFlops. |
"Our research group appreciated the fact that quality and customer support are taken seriously by transtec." Prof. Dr. Ralf Ludwig, University of Rostock |
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| Dresden-Rossendorf Research Centre The complete reference as PDF >> |
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The Dresden-Rossendorf Research Centre (FZD) has conducted application-oriented and basic research focussing on new materials, cancer research and nuclear safety research since 1992. Around 700 people are currently employed there. A high-performance IT system is imperative for the work performed at the Research Centre. Resource-intensive computations and simulations are run every day and experimental data is evaluated. For more than five years, the FZD has been using a high-performance cluster for these tasks. In 2006, the IT output was to be tripled by procuring an additional cluster. The new cluster is primarily used for performing sequential and parallel computations. The demands on processor output as well as memory, hard drive capacity and network performance are accordingly high. The FZD uses the Linux operating system. |
The current configuration of the transtec hydra high-performance cluster:
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"What was convincing about the transtec offer was the price/performance ratio and – of equal significance – the manufacturer’s willingness to approach our individual demands in a very flexible manner. It goes without saying that a standard solution would not be of any use here. We need a tailor-made cluster solution. The hydra-cluster installed by transtec is utterly convincing. Our researchers make intensive use of the new possibilities: they can now run models and simulations in the area of nanostructures, for example, which were not possible in the past." Dr. Uwe Konrad, who is responsible for IT at the FZD |
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| IRSN The complete reference as PDF >> |
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| The French Institute for Radiological Protection and Reactor Safety (IRSN) offers its expertise in nuclear safety and radiological protection to government agencies. Headquartered in Fontenay-aux-Roses and Clamart near Paris, the IRSN (www. irsn.fr) has 1,500 employees in various locations throughout France, as well as Tahiti, most of whom carry out research in nuclear safety. |
A transtec HPC Dual Xeon® clustering solution with
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"The transtec team fully understood our problems and demonstrated a deep knowledge of clustering. Thanks to them, we now have a highly-reliable high-availability HPC solution. We especially appreciated the wide-ranging, competent support." Olivier Isnard |
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| University of Stuttgart The complete reference as PDF >> |
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| Professor Wolfgang Ehlers and fifteen other scientists at the Institute of Mechanics which he chairs have been doing research in the continuum mechanics of polyphase materials for several years now. This research, which focuses on the Theory of Porous Media (TPM), involves computer simulations which are extremely CPU- and storage-intensive. |
LINUX HPC cluster with 50 nodes based on AMD Opteron Processors and a total of 108 GB main memory which includes a quad-processor node.
Networking is over two separate Gigabit networks.
The three master nodes are completely redundant and access a high-performance PROVIGO 660 Fibre Channel RAID system with 2.3 TB capacity. The result is an overall performance of 440 GFlops (peak) or 274 GFlops (Linpack). To ensure adequate cooling, the cluster is installed in room with an air-conditioning unit drawing 15kW. |
"There were three reasons for selecting transtec as a provider. First, the transtec contacts assigned to the project impressed us with their technical know-how and competence; second, and very important, transtec is in a position to provide all of the required hardware and software from a single source; third the price/performance ratio of the transtec products was high." Bernd Markert |
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| University of Erlangen The complete reference as PDF >> |
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The cluster system installed by transtec at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg was rated as one of five hundred fastest computers in the world when it went into operation eighteen-months ago. However, the growing computing needs of the engineering and scientific departments had brought the cluster to limits of its capacity. A decision was made to upgrade.
The challenge: transtec was commissioned to upgrade the university’s cluster system. It was stipulated that the upgrade should result in minimum interruption in user access and also maintain the integrity of the original system. |
The new supercomputer, which is fully remotely administratable, consists of a total of 155 individual computers which function as compute nodes, frontends and file servers.
The configuration consists of:
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"We were very satisfied with the performance of the original cluster, as well as with the availability of both hardware and software that it provided. The excellent support provided by transtec led to a close and fruitful co-operation and when the time came to upgrade transtec was our first choice." Dr. Gerhard Hergenröder, technical director of Regional Computing Centre |
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| Sulzer Innotec The complete reference as PDF >> |
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| Sulzer Innotec, the R&D division of the Swiss Sulzer Group, has selected a powerful transtec cluster system to provide the number-crunching power needed for complex three-dimensional flow simulation. |
The cluster in details: In its initial configuration the cluster has a capacity of 10TB and consists of sixteen dual-processor compute nodes, one dual-Opteron master node and a quad-Opteron administration node. Applications: Complex three-dimensional flow calculations. |
"The transtec combination of an economical price, rigor-ous project management and effective cost planning was just what we were looking for." "Although price was an important consideration in our decision, so too were the competence and the production capacity needed for professional project management." Dr. Torsten Wintergerste, who is in charge of flow technology at Sulzer Innotec |
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