November 13, 2006 

http://www.hoise.com/primeur/06/articles/monthly/AE-PR-12-06-34.html

By:  Ad Emmen

AMD processors are now officially supported as a component of Platform Open Cluster Stack's (OCS) certification programme.  Dell, which recently launched its first AMD-based PowerEdge servers, is the first vendor to join the programme.  The certification of Dell's products further drives the two companies' long-standing commitment to simplify the deployment and management of HPC clusters.

Platform Open Cluster Stack is a modular and hybrid stack that transparently integrates open source and commercial software into a single consistent cluster operating environment. Platform OCS is a pre-integrated, vendor certified software stack that assures the consistent delivery of scale-out application clusters. Platform OCS and AMD processors will be available in conjunction with the following Dell PowerEdge products:

• Dell PowerEdge 6950
• Dell PowerEdge SC 1435

"AMD has a strong history in high-performance computing and remains committed to provide leading edge solutions and innovation for HPC customers' needs with new initiatives such as Torrenza", stated Francesco Torricelli, Manager, World Wide HPC, AMD. "A pre-integrated cluster stack such as Platform OCS, combined with the market presence and leadership of Dell's HPCC program will expand the opportunities for more customers to take advantage of the performance delivered by the AMD Opteron processor with Direct Connect Architecture."

"Since Dell entered the HPCC market, we have taken a leadership position in reducing the complexity of deploying supercomputers with tested and validated configurations, services and the deepest partnerships with industry-leading partners", stated Reza Rooholamini, Director of Solutions Engineering, Dell. "By bundling Platform OCS with AMD-based Dell PowerEdge servers we are continuing to make the complex simple while driving customer choice and a high level of performance."

"Compute clusters have traditionally faced barriers to adoption with issues like space, cooling and systems management", stated Gary Tyreman, Vice President, Platform. "By broadening Platform's certification programme to include AMD-based systems, customers can now decrease these barriers significantly, particularly as Linux clusters expand into new areas of the enterprise."