SCIENCE

At the 2012 PBS Works User Group Conference on October 2, 2012, Colfax International showcased the latest generation of Colfax ClusterEdge, a ready-to-go high-performance computing (HPC) cluster which is certified Intel Cluster Ready. Based on Intel Xeon processor E5 product family, the Colfax HPC cluster helps simulate, analyze and visualize more complex, data-intensive models faster.

Intel Cluster Ready is an industry-standard cluster architecture that makes high-performance clusters simpler to choose, deploy, and maintain. Intel Cluster Ready architecture means pre-tested interoperability between the hardware and software components and the applications, so the HPC cluster benefits can be realized faster. The Intel Cluster Ready validation process helps to verify that cluster components continue working together throughout the cluster lifecycle, to increase uptime, productivity, and reduce total cost of ownership (TCO).

“The Colfax and Altair partnership utilized the Intel Cluster Ready architecture to deliver a complete end-to-end solution. You don’t have to figure out if and how all the parts of the cluster and application fit together. You just use it,” said Brock Taylor, Intel Cluster Ready Manager for the Software and Services Group at Intel. “We want to see domain specialists spending all their time working in their domain, and Colfax and Altair have provided a solution aimed at just that.”

“Small and mid-size companies around the world are struggling with the complexity of using and managing a cluster," said Gautam Shah, President and CEO of Colfax International. “The Colfax-designed HPC cluster is optimally pre-configured and delivered ready-to-go, which means users can simply plug the system in, load their models and start simulation.”

Designed in partnership with Intel and Altair, the Colfax HPC Clusters are delivered ready to run Altair’s HyperWorks solver applications RADIOSS, OptiStruct and AcuSolve, as well as PBS Professional. Preconfigured with Altair’s workload management and computer-aided engineering (CAE) simulation platform, these cluster solutions allow users to load designs and start solving real-world challenges immediately. Users can enjoy the freedom to focus on purchasing the cluster configuration that best fits the application workload - without worrying if the components will work together.

“The Colfax HPC Cluster is certain to become a vital technology for advanced product design, research and many other fields, and users will be able to fully benefit from its power by working with Altair’s PBS Professional and HyperWorks solver products,” said Sam Mahalingam, Senior VP of Software Development at Altair. “With the world’s most popular workload management, optimization and finite element analysis software already on board, this new offering from Colfax will help translate high-performance computing into even higher business achievements.”

Cluster Configuration:
Number of nodes: 1 head node and 4 compute nodes
Head Node:
2x Intel Xeon Processors E5-2650 – 2.00 GHz
128GB RAM / 2x 300 GB SATA HDDs
QDR InfiniBand adapter

Compute Nodes:
2x Intel Xeon Processors E5-2680 – 2.79 GHz per node
128GB RAM / 1x 500GB SATA HDD per node
QDR InfiniBand adapter

Software:
Altair’s PBS Professional 11.3
Altair's HyperWorks solver solutions:
• RADIOSS for finite element structural analysis
• OptiStruct for structure optimization including advanced materials such as composites
• AcuSolve for computation fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation