Catapult Is a Deskside Launching Pad for Scalable Applications

By DE Editors

SiCortex (Maynard, MA) introduced the SC072 Catapult, a 72-processor cluster in a quiet, low-power deskside cabinet.

SiCortex says the Catapult, which is priced at under $15,000, fills a hole in the high performance computing (HPC) application development infrastructure by providing routine personal access to large numbers of processors. The Catapult, like all of SiCortex’s systems, features a standard Linux environment, enabling applications written and tested on the 72-processor machine to run on other SiCortex systems and be easily ported to the world’s largest supercomputers.

SiCortex introduced this concept in HPC by implementing a complete cluster node on a chip, including six 64-bit processors, multiple memory controllers, a high-performance cluster interconnect, and a PCI Express connection to storage and internetworking.

With 72 processors, 48GB memory, and three PCI Express ports, the Catapult draws less than 200 watts of power and fits in standard PC chassis. This eliminates the heat and fan noise issues that have previously made it impossible to put such a large cluster in a deskside environment.

For more information visit SiCortex.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company's website.