Sun Super Computer May Hit 2 Petaflops

Fletcher writes to tell us that Sun Microsystems has revealed their "Constellation System", a new supercomputing platform that the company hopes will put them back in the running for top dog in the supercomputer race. "The linchpin in the system is the switch, the piece of hardware that conducts traffic between the servers, memory and data storage. Code-named Magnum, the switch comes with 3,456 ports, a larger-than-normal number that frees up data pathways inside these powerful computers. 'We are looking at a factor-of-three improvement over the current best system at an equal number of nodes," said Andy Bechtolsheim, chief architect and senior vice president of the systems group at Sun. "We have been somewhat absent in the supercomputer market in the last few years.'"

Obligatory

[CompMD]

...but will it run linux?

Zoolander

[Anonymous Coward]

I dearly, dearly hope that the followups to Magnum are codenamed LaTigra and Blue Steel :)

And yet...

[Anonymous Coward]

Java apps still take 3 minutes to start up on it.

Couldn't resist...

[Bobfrankly1]

Well if they just move the petaflops out of the way before it gets there, they won't have to worry about it hitting them.
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In Soviet Russia, TFA reads you!

Constellation class system

[CompMD]

Please tell me the first production system will be named "Enterprise." There have to be enough people that will work on it that will be proponents of this.

Great units

[Life700MB]

We are looking at a factor-of-three improvement over the current best system at an equal number of nodes

Whoa, slowdown boy, just tell us how many laptop-miles of power this machine has!

--
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Whooshhh...

[Idbar]

You missed the official rules [slashdot.org].

First Prime Factorization Post

[2*2*3*75011]

3456 = 2^7 * 3^3, so it's not a completely arbitrary number.

3,456

[Nom du Keyboard]

3,456 ports. Now there's a non-computer number if I've ever seen one. It looks like someone asked, "And just how many ports do we need to be competitive," and someone else just started hitting the number keys in sequence across the top of the keyboard, starting at "3", until either Marketing was happy, or the engineer in charge fainted.

Do you feel lucky?

[TheWoozle]

The linchpin in the system is the switch, the piece of hardware that conducts traffic between the servers, memory and data storage. Code-named Magnum, the switch...

I know what you're thinking. Did I forward 65,535 packets or 65,536 packets? Well, to tell you the truth, in all the excitement I kinda lost track myself. But being as this is a Sun Microsystems Magnum, the most powerful switch in the world, and would blow your IP clean off, you've got to ask yourself a question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk? Go ahead. Make my day.

Re:Obligatory

[thommym]

...but will it run linux?

Yes, of course. Although not as speedy as Solaris...

Re:3,456

[jd]

Or they needed 640 ports for internal connectivity (or 640 ports, channel-bonded, for upstream connectivity). Personally, I think it's the manager's password, though.

Sun Super Computer

[phalse phace]

Imagine a beowulf cluster of these!

There ya go

Re:And yet...

[glwtta]

1996 has been looking for you - they really want their stupid jokes back.

Re:IBM Blue Gene/P

[Life2Short]

Meh... In 15 years the thing will wind up as baby furniture [gizmodo.com] with kid puke on it anyway.

Re:"We have been somewhat absent..."

[Anonymous McCartneyf]

Sun is responsible for OpenOffice. I expect OpenOffice to become the premiere office suite on PCs of all sorts any day now.

Overkill?

[Red Mage 13]

640k should be enough.

Code named Magnum?

[sonoronos]

Have you ever wondered if there was more to life, other than being really, really, ridiculously high-performance?