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$24.5 Million Linux Supercomputer

An anonymous reader wrote in to say "Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (US DOE) signed a $24.5 million dollar contract with HP for a Linux supercomputer. This will be one of the top ten fastest computers in the world. Some cool features: 8.3 Trillion Floating Point Operations per Second, 1.8 Terabytes of RAM, 170 Terabytes of disk, (including a 53 TB SAN), and 1400 Intel McKinley and Madison Processors. Nice quote: 'Today's announcement shows how HP has worked to help accelerate the shift from proprietary platforms to open architectures, which provide increased scalability, speed and functionality at a lower cost,' said Rich DeMillo, vice president and chief technology officer at HP. Read Details of the announcement here or here."

19 of 376 comments (clear)

  1. What would a cluster of these be like? by Qbertino · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Sorry, couldn't resist. :-)
    BTW: First Post? Hope so. Jippeee...

    --
    We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
  2. Gee, that's fast... by gTsiros · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    ...but does it run Serious Sam?! Who gives a damn about a computer if you can't hear Sam's magnificent "WooHoo! Let's go bowling" quote before you woop some kleer ass ;)

    --
    Looking for people to chat about multicopters, coding, music. skype: gtsiros
  3. How to Remove Linux and Install Windows XP by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    How to Remove Linux and Install Windows XP (Q314458)

    The information in this article applies to:

    * Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

    * Microsoft Windows XP Professional

    For a Microsoft Windows 2000 version of this article, see Q247804 .

    SUMMARY

    This article explains how to remove the Linux operating system from your computer and install Windows XP. This article assumes that Linux is already installed on your computer's hard disk, that Linux native and Linux swap partitions are in use (which are incompatible with Windows XP), and that there is no free space left on the hard disk.

    NOTE : Windows XP and Linux can coexist on the same computer. For additional information, refer to your Linux documentation.

    MORE INFORMATION

    To install Windows XP on a computer on which Linux is currently installed (and assuming that you want to remove Linux), you must manually delete the partitions used by the Linux operating system. The Windows-compatible partition can be created automatically during the installation of Windows XP.

    IMPORTANT : Before you follow the steps in this article, verify that you have a bootable disk or bootable CD-ROM for the Linux operating system, because these steps completely remove the Linux operating system from your computer. If you intend to restore the Linux operating system at a later date, verify that you also have a functional backup of all the information stored on your computer. Additionally, you must have a full release version of Windows XP to use during this installation. If you intend to use a Windows XP upgrade CD-ROM, a CD-ROM of a qualifying Windows product must be available. Setup from the Windows XP upgrade CD-ROM will prompt you for this CD-ROM.

    Linux file systems use a superblock at the beginning of a disk partition to identify the basic size, shape, and condition of the file system.

    The Linux operating system is generally installed on partition type 83 (Linux native) or 82 (Linux swap). The Linux boot manager (LILO) can be configured to start from either of the following locations:

    * The hard disk Master Boot Record (MBR)

    -or-

    * The root folder of the Linux partition

    The Fdisk tool included with Linux can be used to delete the partitions. (There are other utilities that work just as well, such as Fdisk from MS-DOS 5.0 and later, or you can delete the partitions during the installation process.)

    To remove Linux from your computer and install Windows XP, follow these steps:

    1. Remove the native, swap, and boot partitions used by Linux:

    1. Start your computer with the Linux Setup floppy disk, type fdisk at the command prompt, and then press ENTER.

    NOTE : For help with using the Fdisk tool, type m at the command prompt, and then press ENTER.

    # Type p at the command prompt, and then press ENTER to display partition information. The first item listed is hard disk 1, partition 1 information , and the second item listed is hard disk 1, partition 2 information .

    # Type d at the command prompt, and then press ENTER. You are then prompted for the partition number that you want to delete. Type 1 , and then press ENTER to delete partition number 1. Repeat this step until all the partitions have been deleted.

    # Type w , and then press ENTER to write this information to the partition table. Some error messages may be generated (because information is written to the partition table), but they should not be significant at this point because the next step is to restart the computer and then install the new operating system.

    # Type q at the command prompt, and then press ENTER to quit the Fdisk tool.

    # Insert either a bootable floppy disk or the bootable Windows XP CD-ROM, and then press CTRL+ALT+DELETE to restart your computer.

    2. Follow the instructions on the screen to install Windows XP.

    The installation process assists you in creating the appropriate partitions on your computer.

    Sample Linux Partition Tables
    Single SCSI Drive

    Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
    /dev/sda1 * 1 500 4016218 83 Linux native (SCSI hard drive 1, partition 1)
    /dev/sda2 501 522 176715 82 Linux swap (SCSI hard drive 1, partition 2)

    Multiple SCSI Drives

    Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
    /dev/sda1 * 1 500 4016218 83 Linux native (SCSI hard drive 1, partition 1)
    /dev/sda2 501 522 176715 82 Linux swap (SCSI hard drive 1, partition 2)
    /dev/sdb1 1 500 4016218 83 Linux native (SCSI hard drive 2, partition 1)

    Single IDE Drive

    Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
    /dev/hda1 * 1 500 4016218 83 Linux native (IDE hard drive 1, partition 1)
    /dev/hda2 501 522 176715 82 Linux swap (IDE hard drive 1, partition 2)

    Multiple IDE Drives

    Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
    /dev/hda1 * 1 500 4016218 83 Linux native (IDE hard drive 1, partition 1)
    /dev/hda2 501 522 176715 82 Linux swap (IDE hard drive 1, partition 2)
    /dev/hdb1 1 500 4016218 83 Linux native (IDE hard drive 2, partition 1)

    Additionally, Linux recognizes more than 40 different partition types, including the following:

    * FAT 12 (Type 01)

    * FAT 16 > 32 M Primary (Type 06)

    * FAT 16 Extended (Type 05)

    * FAT 32 w/o LBA Primary (Type 0b)

    * FAT 32 w/LBA Primary (Type 0c)

    * FAT 16 w/LBA (Type 0e)

    * FAT 16 w/LBA Extended (Type 0f)

    Note that there are other ways to remove the Linux operating system and install Windows XP. The preceding method is included in this article because of the assumptions that the Linux operating system is already functioning and there is no more room on the hard disk. There are methods for changing partition sizes with software designed for managing partitions. Disk partitioning software may cause instability with the Windows XP installation. Microsoft does not support the installation of Windows XP on partitions manipulated in this manner.

    You can also use an MS-DOS version 5.0-or-later boot disk, a Microsoft Windows 95 Startup disk, or a Microsoft Windows 98 Startup disk that contains the Fdisk utility to remove an operating system from the hard disk and install a different operating system. When you start Fdisk and multiple drives are installed on your computer, you are presented with five choices; use option 5 to select the hard disk that has the partition to be deleted. After that (or if you have only one hard disk), select option 3 ( Delete partition or logical DOS drive ), and then select option 4 ( Delete non-DOS partition ). You should then see the non-MS-DOS partitions that you want to delete. Typically, the Linux operating system has two non-MS-DOS partitions, but there may be more. After you delete one partition, use the same steps to delete any other appropriate non-MS-DOS partitions.

    For additional information about how to use the Fdisk utility, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
    Q255867 How to Use the Fdisk Tool and the Format Tool to Partition or Repartition a Hard Disk After you delete the partitions, you can create partitions and install the operating system that you want. You can create only one primary partition and an extended partition with multiple logical drives by using Fdisk from MS-DOS version 5.0-and-later, Windows 95, and Windows 98. The maximum FAT16 primary partition size is 2 gigabytes (GB). The largest FAT16 logical drive size is 2 GB.

    For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
    Q105074 MS-DOS 6.2 Partitioning Questions and Answers When you install Windows XP, the Linux partitions can be removed and new partitions created and formatted with the appropriate file system type during the installation process. Windows XP allows you to create more than one primary partition. Windows XP does recognize the FAT32 file system. During the installation of Windows XP, you can create a very large FAT32 drive. The FAT32 drive can be converted to NTFS after the installation has completed, if appropriate.

    For additional information about how to multiboot with Windows XP, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
    Q306559 HOW TO: Create a Multiple-Boot System with Windows XP For more information, browse to the following Microsoft Web site:
    http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techin fo/admi nistration/management/mltiboot.asp The third-party contact information included in this article is provided to help you find the technical support you need. This contact information is subject to change without notice. Microsoft in no way guarantees the accuracy of this third-party contact information.

    The third-party products discussed in this article are manufactured by vendors independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding these products' performance or reliability.

  4. SUCK MY PUSSY by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    That is all.

  5. Re:Wow... good thing they chose linux... by KDENCE · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Dude, if I had any mod points at least one would be yours man. This is way too funny!

  6. Something in this story by MrFredBloggs · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    is turning SlashDot into an Italic hell!

  7. Someone's going to say it sooner or later... by ari{Dal} · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Might as well be me.

    1) Imagine a beowolf cluster...
    2) Can that thing run Quake?
    3) Finally! A harddrive big enough for my MP3 collection!

    Seriously though, it's nice to see these companies working together to further common platforms. And running linux! If this doesn't show the power of linux scalability, nothing EVER will.

    --
    Moral indignation is jealousy with a halo - H. G. Wells
  8. It's official: Slashdot is dying by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    (Reposted from an eariler story -- worth reading.)

    It is now official - a Slashdot poll has confirmed: Slashdot is dying

    Yet another crippling bombshell hit the beleaguered Slashdot community when recently a poll on the site confirmed that up-to-date and factually-correct stories account for less than 40 percent of all submitted news stories, that the user-moderation system has fallen to pieces through the oppressive power of the editors, and that subscribers don't need to pay and can use such software as JunkBuster to filter out adverts. Coming on the heels of the latest MSNBC survey which plainly states that Slashdot has lost more readers, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. Slashdot is collapsing in complete disarray, as further exemplified by failing dead last in the recent Kuro5hin technology site popularity test.

    You don't need to be a Kreskin to predict Slashdot's future. The hand writing is on the wall: Slashdot faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for it because Slashdot is dying. Things are looking very bad for the site. As many of us are already aware, Slashdot continues to lose readers. Red ink flows like a river of blood. The subscribers scheme is the most endangered of them all, having lost 62% of its paying readers.

    Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

    Slashdot editor Rob Malda (CmdrTaco) states that there are 700 paying subscribers to Slashdot. How many normal readers are there? Let's see. The number of subscriber versus reader posts on Slashdot is roughly in ratio of 1 to 4. Therefore there are about 700*4 = 2800 normal casual readers. Anonymous Coward posts are about half of the volume of the typical posts. Therefore there are about 1400 readers who can't be bothered setting up an account. A recent article put the Trolls, who post sexual insults, foul ASCII art pictures and links to vile sites, at about 80 percent of the Slashdot readership. Therefore there are (700+8400+4200)*4 = 19600 trolling readers. This is consistent with the number of Troll posts.

    Due to the troubles of Andover.net, abysmal hit counts and so on, Slashdot went out of business and was taken over by OSDN who run another troubled site. Now OSDN is also dead, its corpse turned over to yet another charnel house.

    All major surveys show that Slashdot has steadily declined in readership. It is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If Slashdot is to survive at all it will be among geeky hobbyist dabblers. Slashdot continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, Slashdot is dead.

    So why now? Why did Slashdot fail? Once you get over the myriad of incompatible personalities, particularly among the editors who have repeatedly failed to check for serious inaccuracies in their stories (see the FreeBSD 4.5 "release" as a shocking example), it's clear that subscribers will continue to decrease. Using software such as JunkBuster, readers can eliminate adverts without having to pay any money. These two significant factors, along with the corrupted "moderation" scheme (where editors have infinite power over the regular moderators), only confirm yet further that Slashdot's glory days are coming to an end.

    Fact: Slashdot is dying

  9. imagine by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    imagine a beowulf cluster of these

  10. Slashdot is dying by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    It is now official - a Slashdot poll has confirmed: Slashdot is dying

    Yet another crippling bombshell hit the beleaguered Slashdot community when recently a poll on the site confirmed that up-to-date and factually-correct stories account for less than 40 percent of all submitted news stories, that the user-moderation system has fallen to pieces through the oppressive power of the editors, and that subscribers don't need to pay and can use such software as JunkBuster to filter out adverts. Coming on the heels of the latest MSNBC survey which plainly states that Slashdot has lost more readers, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. Slashdot is collapsing in complete disarray, as further exemplified by failing dead last [kuro5hin.com] in the recent Kuro5hin technology site popularity test.

    You don't need to be a Kreskin [amdest.com] to predict Slashdot's future. The hand writing is on the wall: Slashdot faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for it because Slashdot is dying. Things are looking very bad for the site. As many of us are already aware, Slashdot continues to lose readers. Red ink flows like a river of blood. The subscribers scheme is the most endangered of them all, having lost 62% of its paying readers.

    Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

    Slashdot editor Rob Malda (CmdrTaco) states that there are 700 paying subscribers to Slashdot. How many normal readers are there? Let's see. The number of subscriber versus reader posts on Slashdot is roughly in ratio of 1 to 4. Therefore there are about 700*4 = 2800 normal casual readers. Anonymous Coward posts are about half of the volume of the typical posts. Therefore there are about 1400 readers who can't be bothered setting up an account. A recent article put the Trolls, who post sexual insults, foul ASCII art pictures and links to vile sites, at about 80 percent of the Slashdot readership. Therefore there are (700+8400+4200)*4 = 19600 trolling readers. This is consistent with the number of Troll posts.

    Due to the troubles of Andover.net, abysmal hit counts and so on, Slashdot went out of business and was taken over by OSDN who run another troubled site. Now OSDN is also dead, its corpse turned over to yet another charnel house.

    All major surveys show that Slashdot has steadily declined in readership. It is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If Slashdot is to survive at all it will be among geeky hobbyist dabblers. Slashdot continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, Slashdot is dead.

    So why now? Why did Slashdot fail? Once you get over the myriad of incompatible personalities, particularly among the editors who have repeatedly failed to check for serious inaccuracies in their stories (see the FreeBSD 4.5 "release" as a shocking example), it's clear that subscribers will continue to decrease. Using software such as JunkBuster, readers can eliminate adverts without having to pay any money. These two significant factors, along with the corrupted "moderation" scheme (where editors have infinite power over the regular moderators), only confirm yet further that Slashdot's glory days are coming to an end.

    Fact: Slashdot is dying

    1. Re:Slashdot is dying by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      Could you be a little more wordy please?
      I for one think that if indeed /. is dying then it's dying because of troll morons like yourself.

  11. RTFA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    nt

  12. Re:1,800 intel processors? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    thats it i have ram envy

    You envy people who get rammed?

  13. Can't resist.... by the_mind_ · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Can You Imagine a Beowulf Cluster of These?

    --
    You feel sleepy. Close your eyes. The opinions stated above are yours. You cannot imagine why you ever felt otherwise.
  14. Re:What a waste by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    I don't know which of you is the bigger asshole, but you both made it to the final

  15. Imagine... by drkich · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    a beowulf cluster of these... Sorry...

  16. Wow .. by ProfMoriarty · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    Thats a pretty impressive system.

    But can it a survive a Slashdotting?

    --
    Karma? Karma? I don't need no stinkin' karma.
  17. Re:Heck, I could use one of these by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Sorry, but all of the world's supercomputers are strictly controlled by the Jews. The Jewish stranglehold on high-end computing is obviously necessary for their nefarious schemes, plots, and evil designs. Each member of this Zionist conspiracy carries a special card encoded with the DNA of its owner. This is so that sellers can verify that the biological makeup of the buyer includes the Mark of Cain, which is a unique genetic imprint found in pure descendants of Abraham (and by extension, Cain).

    Without this card, you will be unable to buy a truly powerful supercomputer.

  18. GOOGLE switch to FreeBSD! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    With any luck, Google will avoid the curse of all the *linux companies that have gone belly up by switching to a real OS, like FreeBSD, which Yahoo uses.