US Navy buys Apple as Linux Platform

Nine Mirrors Turning writes "According to the Register the US Navy has ordered 260 XServe servers running Yellow Dog Linux from Terra Soft Solutions. Terra Soft is the only reseller allowed to resell Apple hardware with a third-party operating system installed. The XServes will be modified by a unnamed third-party and will be running a custom kernel. The XServes are destined for US Navy submarines and will be used for real-time image processing. I do wonder how many will be installed on each sub, though. Are we talking clustering here? I didn't even know the USN was running Linux on front-line ships."

Comments

Re:Why XServes for Linux?

[oscarmv]

Most likely the stuff the XServes will be doing benefits greatly from Altivec acceleration. IIRC there's a lot of vectorising that can be done on most image processing algorithms.

In that case PowerPC servers are a given, and Apple's are probably some of the best on bang for the buck.

no one remembers the NT crash?

[Frac]

"I didn't even know the USN was running Linux on front-line ships."

They probably looked at alternatives after Windows NT crashed from a division-by-zero error and left a navy ship dead on the water for several hours.

Re:Why XServes for Linux?

[Tomasset]

As someone else has already pointed out, there are some architectural advantages in the PPC vs. the x86 comparissons, more specifically the use of Altivec extensions in the current G4s (and of course G5s).

Some tests have already proven that the G5 is not overwhelmingly superior to the G4 when using Altivec code (just a linear increase with the clock rates). Thus waiting for G5 systems is probably not needed in this case.

As the article clearly states, these systems will be used for signal processing applications, where the vector extensions really shine. So in terms of computational power/required energy to run (very important in submarines, i assume) i can image that the G4 are very competitive.

As for the Linux vs. Os X, well, we do have to agree that Linux is very well supported and already qualified for many tasks/contracts (which Os X might not??).

T

Re:number one

[Wyatt Earp]

That was the Yorktown.

http://www.gcn.com/archives/gcn/1998/july13/cov2 .h tm

"Atlantic Fleet officials acknowledged that the Yorktown last September experienced what they termed "an engineering local area network casualty," but denied that the ship's systems failure lasted as long as DiGiorgio said. The Yorktown was dead in the water for about two hours and 45 minutes, fleet officials said, and did not have to be towed in."

"The Yorktown lost control of its propulsion system because its computers were unable to divide by the number zero, the memo said. The Yorktown's Standard Monitoring Control System administrator entered zero into the data field for the Remote Data Base Manager program. That caused the database to overflow and crash all LAN consoles and miniature remote terminal units, the memo said."

"The Navy reduced the Yorktown crew by 10 percent and saved more than $2.8 million a year using the computers. The ship uses dual 200-MHz Pentium Pros from Intergraph Corp. of Huntsville, Ala. The PCs and server run NT 4.0 over a high-speed, fiber-optic LAN."

That was 1997-98

As it happens, I work on this program ...

[miniver]

As you can imagine, there are a lot of details about this program that are not publicly releaseable, even if they aren't classified. You can find about more about ARCI via Google, but start with this PDF; it's mostly marketing pitch, but it does describe what we're doing.

Background: Twenty-first century technological innovation demands that today's warfare systems become increasingly adaptable and upgradeable. Exploiting research and development to ensure U.S. forces maintain a decisive lead in technologies critical to military transformation, the use of Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) equipment in the Acoustic Rapid COTS Insertion (ARCI) Program has demonstrated the ability to restore a remarkable acoustic advantage to U.S. submarines. ARCI demonstrated, through the use of COTS equipment, the ability to rapidly install a marked technological refresh in equipment at a lower cost.
In real-world exercises and operations, the ARCI submarine sonar system has unequivocally demonstrated that U.S. submarines retain a clear acoustic advantage. Use of COTS equipment in ARCI has substantially reduced costs with significantly improved processing capability.

Description: The ARCI program is a phased effort to provide the submarine force with a common sonar that is far more capable and flexible than earlier designs. An open-systems architecture (OSA) exploiting commercial processing development permits the use of complex algorithms that could not previously be accommodated. COTS based processors and OSA technology and systems allow onboard computing power to grow at nearly the same rate as commercial industry's. This facilitates regular updates to both software and hardware with minimal impact on submarine scheduling.
Lockheed Martin Naval Electronics & Surveillance Systems (NE&SS)-Undersea Systems is the lead contractor for the U.S. Navy's ARCI Program. This multi-phase development initiative provides for sonar systems upgrades on existing legacy submarine sonar systems including the SSN-688, SSN-688I, SSN-21, and SSBN-726 class submarines. The ARCI Program features the installation of a common, cost-effective, more capable and flexible COTS-based open systems architecture.

Next Step: Lockheed Martin is leading an effort to raise the reliability to guarantee operational effectiveness for predictable operating periods. Known as Maintenance Free Operating Periods (MFOP), this concept will transform maintenance practices, supply support systems, training concepts, and further enhance operational performance while reducing life-cycle costs.

Features:

• Enables U.S. undersea superiority as a result of the insertion of leading-edge technology into the Fleet
• Dramatically improves towed array performance and enhances tactical control
• Advances spherical, hull, and high frequency array processing and performance
• Use of COTS with open systems architecture allows for continuous updates and reduces total ownership costs

I can offer some insights into the factors driving this particular decision:

• Power / Size / Price - The Xserve computers are dual-processor 1.33GHz G4s, in a 1u form-factor. Compared to the equipment that these units are replacing, we're improving the MFLOP density for the equivalent space, while reducing the cost by a factor of 5 or more.
• Compatability - The Xserves are a fraction of the COTS hardware that we're installing. Much of what we're doing is replacing HP servers with generic Linux servers (running Red Hat Linux). We chose Yellow Dog Linux for its compatibility with Red Hat Linux. Using OS/X wouldn't make sense since these servers are being using as compute engines in a cluster, not displays.

You have to keep in mind the physical environment of a submarine: there isn't a lot of space on a boat for active equipment, much less spares. Redundancy is a must, as is reliability.

Re:Why XServes for Linux?

[falcon5768]

Actually you do, cause higher reactor output creates a lot of steam flow noise which is traceable, and regardless of which all of that heat is kept the the reactor core, the sub it's self is relatively cool when they are not running silent.

And yes heat is of a concern when you dont want to have your computer making too much noise cooling it's self(both vibrations and soundcan be transmitted outside of the hull.)

Its a very tricky thing but the g4's low power consumption makes it a pretty cool chip compared to a P4