Compaq Computer Corp believes it has proved that clusters of standard NT servers will soon be suitable for mainstream commercial applications, and has demonstrated a 72-node cluster of servers in conjunction with the Sandia National Laboratories in Albaquerque, New Mexico. Compaq says the cluster, using dual Intel-processor Compaq Proliant-servers hooked together using the ServerNet interconnect from its Tandem division, smashed the previous record for sorting one terabyte of data by more than three times. The previous record was achieved using a 12 processor Cray. Compaq said all the components used in the demonstration are available now off the shelf. The data sort took 50 minutes compared to the 150 minutes of the previous record, using a scalable algorithm to allow linear scalability, and neither the server nor the link was saturated by the task. Standard servers can now be used in this way due to the reduction in latency achieved through using the virtual interface architecture compliant ServerNet link, and a better understanding of how to use shared nothing cluster architectures, according to Compaq. It says the clusters take scalabilty and reliability way beyond what will ever be possible with symmetrical multiprocessors. Within a year, it believes, a number of parallel edition databases will be comfortable running on 72 node systems, and even NT itself is getting more parallel-aware, through the joint projects Tandem and Microsoft are currently working on. Compaq expects such clusters to be used for such applications as fraud detection, decision support applications, data warehousing, database loading, computer-aided design, scientific visualization and web search engines. The concept is being borrowed from the world of supercomputers, whereas the scientific world is beginning to build its own clusters of standard servers, using standard servers and the Linux operating system, as a much cheaper alternative to supercomputers. The resulting systems are known as Beowulf clusters. Los Alamos Labs recently built a 140 node Beowulf system using Alpha-based servers. Compaq says it can’t offer such systems as configured products until the software is standardized, but will help its customers to build them.
