IBM doubles Regatta's cluster power
Stephen Shankland Former Principal Writer
Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
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IBM has boosted the number of top-end p690 "Regatta" Unix servers that can be linked via a high-speed switch into a single large computing resource. Previously as many as 16 of the 32-processor machines could be linked in a configuration called the Cluster 1600. Now IBM has certified 32-server clusters as well, the company will announce Friday.
The configuration uses IBM's SP Switch2 to connect the servers and IBM's Global Parallel File System (GPFS) to let the systems share each other's storage. Cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris is among the customers using the Cluster 1600, IBM said.