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Sun Super Computer May Hit 2 Petaflops

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the coming-out-swinging dept.

Fletcher writes to tell us that Sun Microsystems has revealed their "Constellation System", a new supercomputing platform that the company hopes will put them back in the running for top dog in the supercomputer race. "The linchpin in the system is the switch, the piece of hardware that conducts traffic between the servers, memory and data storage. Code-named Magnum, the switch comes with 3,456 ports, a larger-than-normal number that frees up data pathways inside these powerful computers. 'We are looking at a factor-of-three improvement over the current best system at an equal number of nodes," said Andy Bechtolsheim, chief architect and senior vice president of the systems group at Sun. "We have been somewhat absent in the supercomputer market in the last few years.'"

11 of 134 comments (clear)

  1. Zoolander by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    I dearly, dearly hope that the followups to Magnum are codenamed LaTigra and Blue Steel :)

  2. And yet... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Java apps still take 3 minutes to start up on it.

    1. Re:And yet... by glwtta · · Score: 4, Funny

      1996 has been looking for you - they really want their stupid jokes back.

      --
      sic transit gloria mundi
  3. Couldn't resist... by Bobfrankly1 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Well if they just move the petaflops out of the way before it gets there, they won't have to worry about it hitting them.
    -
    In Soviet Russia, TFA reads you!

  4. Constellation class system by CompMD · · Score: 4, Funny

    Please tell me the first production system will be named "Enterprise." There have to be enough people that will work on it that will be proponents of this.

  5. Great units by Life700MB · · Score: 5, Funny

    We are looking at a factor-of-three improvement over the current best system at an equal number of nodes

    Whoa, slowdown boy, just tell us how many laptop-miles of power this machine has!


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    Great hosting 200GB Storage, 2_TB_ bandwidth, php, mysql, ssh, $7.95
  6. Whooshhh... by Idbar · · Score: 5, Funny

    You missed the official rules.

  7. 3,456 by Nom+du+Keyboard · · Score: 4, Funny

    3,456 ports. Now there's a non-computer number if I've ever seen one. It looks like someone asked, "And just how many ports do we need to be competitive," and someone else just started hitting the number keys in sequence across the top of the keyboard, starting at "3", until either Marketing was happy, or the engineer in charge fainted.

    --
    "It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
  8. Do you feel lucky? by TheWoozle · · Score: 5, Funny

    The linchpin in the system is the switch, the piece of hardware that conducts traffic between the servers, memory and data storage. Code-named Magnum, the switch... I know what you're thinking. Did I forward 65,535 packets or 65,536 packets? Well, to tell you the truth, in all the excitement I kinda lost track myself. But being as this is a Sun Microsystems Magnum, the most powerful switch in the world, and would blow your IP clean off, you've got to ask yourself a question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk? Go ahead. Make my day.
    --
    Insisting on "correct" English is like saying that there is only one, definitive recipe for chili.
  9. Sun Super Computer by phalse+phace · · Score: 4, Funny

    Imagine a beowulf cluster of these!

    There ya go

  10. Re:IBM Blue Gene/P by Life2Short · · Score: 4, Funny

    Meh... In 15 years the thing will wind up as baby furniture with kid puke on it anyway.