3M is a science-based enterprise. Its high-performance computing (HPC) IT team works closely with the company’s scientists and engineers to provide optimal solutions to their computing needs. In April 2011, the HPC IT team installed an innovative Intel® Xeon® processor-based hybrid cluster that combines shared-memory and cluster computing and a virtualization environment. Peter Bye, 3M HPC system architect for over 15 years, says the 7.2 TF machine runs a full range of technical applications and provides an average 50 percent performance increase compared to 3M’s previous Intel® Xeon® processor X5365-based HPC platform. CHALLENGES • Memory limits. The Intel® Xeon® processor 3.0 GHz in 3M’s five-year-old cluster delivered adequate performance but was limited to single jobs with no more than 16 GB of RAM. • Changing business model. 3M is developing more custom designs for its manufacturing customers. Researchers and engineers need to innovate more rapidly. SOLUTIONS • Intel Xeon processor-based hybrid. 3M’s hybrid cluster combines an SGI Altix* UV 100 with the Intel Xeon processor X7560 and an SGI C2112-based cluster with the Intel Xeon processor X5650. The system runs Red Hat Enterprise Linux* 6.1 and has 624 cores, 3.136 TB of RAM, and a unified Dell Force10* 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) fabric. • Virtualization. 3M virtualizes with Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM), an open-source solution that uses Intel® Virtualization Technology (Intel® VT) to run virtual machines (VMs) across shared-memory and cluster resources. • High-performance storage and backup. The system connects to 52 TB of external storage using Panasas PAS* 8 network-attached storage with Intel Xeon processor-based controllers. A new SGI ArcFiniti* file-based archiving solution will use the Intel® Xeon® processor 5600 series to control 150 TB of backup and archival storage.
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3M is a science-based enterprise. Its high-performance computing (HPC) IT team works closely with the company’s scientists and engineers to provide optimal solutions to their computing needs. In April 2011, the HPC IT team installed an innovative Intel® Xeon® processor-based hybrid cluster that combines shared-memory and cluster computing and a virtualization environment. Peter Bye, 3M HPC system architect for over 15 years, says the 7.2 TF machine runs a full range of technical applications and provides an average 50 percent performance increase compared to 3M’s previous Intel® Xeon® processor X5365-based HPC platform. CHALLENGES • Memory limits. The Intel® Xeon® processor 3.0 GHz in 3M’s five-year-old cluster delivered adequate performance but was limited to single jobs with no more than 16 GB of RAM. • Changing business model. 3M is developing more custom designs for its manufacturing customers. Researchers and engineers need to innovate more rapidly. SOLUTIONS • Intel Xeon processor-based hybrid. 3M’s hybrid cluster combines an SGI Altix* UV 100 with the Intel Xeon processor X7560 and an SGI C2112-based cluster with the Intel Xeon processor X5650. The system runs Red Hat Enterprise Linux* 6.1 and has 624 cores, 3.136 TB of RAM, and a unified Dell Force10* 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) fabric. • Virtualization. 3M virtualizes with Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM), an open-source solution that uses Intel® Virtualization Technology (Intel® VT) to run virtual machines (VMs) across shared-memory and cluster resources. • High-performance storage and backup. The system connects to 52 TB of external storage using Panasas PAS* 8 network-attached storage with Intel Xeon processor-based controllers. A new SGI ArcFiniti* file-based archiving solution will use the Intel® Xeon® processor 5600 series to control 150 TB of backup and archival storage.
