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Cray CTO: Linux clusters don't play in HPC

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the you'd-think-he-should-know dept.

jagger writes "Linux clustering was touted as the next big thing by many vendors last week at ClusterWorld Conference & Expo 2004. But supercomputer vendor Cray Inc. scoffed at the notion of putting Linux clusters in the high-performance computing (HPC) category. "Despite assertions made by Linux vendors, a Linux cluster is not a high performance computer," said Dr. Paul Terry, CTO of Cray Canada."

13 of 435 comments (clear)

  1. Seymour Cray by JargonScott · · Score: 5, Funny

    A quote I've seen before:

    "If you were plowing a field, which would you rather use? Two strong oxen or 1024 chickens?"

    Maybe he meant penguins?

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    Nuke Gay Whales for Jesus.
    1. Re:Seymour Cray by theatre_freak · · Score: 4, Funny

      Would that be a kilochicken?

    2. Re:Seymour Cray by lukewarmfusion · · Score: 4, Funny

      Chickens, for the same reasons that you would use 1024 Linux boxen instead of his Cray.

      And when you're done plowing, you can fry 'em up all tasty.

    3. Re:Seymour Cray by turgid · · Score: 4, Funny
      "If you were plowing a field, which would you rather use? Two strong oxen or 1024 chickens?"

      Personally, I'd prefer a John Deere 6003 Series.

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      Stick Men
    4. Re:Seymour Cray by kitzilla · · Score: 4, Funny

      "If you were plowing a field, which would you rather use? Two strong oxen or 1024 chickens?" How big are the chickens?

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      This is my post. There are many others like it. If you don't like what you read here, go try one of the others.
    5. Re:Seymour Cray by Skjellifetti · · Score: 4, Funny

      Depends. Does HPC stand for High Performance Cow or High Performance Chicken?

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      FreeSpeech.org
    6. Re:Seymour Cray by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 5, Funny
      "If you were plowing a field, which would you rather use? Two strong oxen or 1024 chickens?"

      When Seymour Cray made that statement, he was probably pointing out the difference between his he-man vector processors vs. clusters of the wimpy microprocessors of old.

      After reading the article, it seems that this new Cray is powered by a bunch of the exact same AMD microprocessors that a cluster of Linux boxes would use. So what they have now is more like an ox-shaped sack stuffed with chickens.

    7. Re:Seymour Cray by epiphani · · Score: 5, Funny

      wow. I've never seen someone fail so miserably when trying to start a flamewar over why kind of Tractor is better. Man, I thought they woulda been all over that here on slashdot.

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  2. Todays headlines... by stevens · · Score: 4, Funny

    Company officer claims competitor isn't as good as his product. Film at 11.

  3. Re:Marketing by Total_Wimp · · Score: 5, Funny

    "At best, clusters are a loose collection of unmanaged, individual, microprocessor-based computers."

    I'm sure Paul Terry is nothing more han a loose collection fo unmanaged, individual human cells too. But I'm sure, with hard work and love, he can become a _real_ boy! Lets all have a hug.

  4. Says who? by dagnabit · · Score: 4, Funny

    Who is this guy and what does a company like Cray know about... oh... never mind.

  5. Obligatory by Rhesus+Piece · · Score: 4, Funny

    "No, a Kilochicken is a 1000 chickens. You're thinking of a kibichicken. Check it out at http://www.nist.gov" Somebody had to, right? Right?

  6. doesn't this CTO of cray remind u of someone? by MoFoQ · · Score: 4, Funny

    doesn't this CTO of cray remind you of someone?
    "There IS no Linux in high-performance clusters."

    "There IS no Americans in Iraq."

    OMG! It's the former Iraqi mis-Informed-ation minister!

    Especially when 2004 has been dubbed the year of the penguin, it's wreckless to claim that Linux can't be used in HPC's.
    Hell, just look at the current top500 list. There's no Cray in the top 10 but there are two Linux based clusters there (and one based on OSX [FreeBSB based]).

    Here's a few:
    NCSA's IA32 Linux cluster
    NCSA's IA32 Linux cluster
    Space Simulator Clust at Los Alamos (SS51G based; makes me proud as I have a SS51G too)
    Beowulf - used in many Linux clustering projects
    Linux clusters at Los Alamos (they seem to have more than one)
    Virginia Tech's Supercomputer X