Voltaire InfiniBand Switches Added to High-Performance Linux Cluster Configurations from HP; Reseller Agreement Brings New Levels of Cluster Performance to Customers

Business Wire, Oct 18, 2004

BILLERICA, Mass. -- Voltaire, the leader in interconnect solutions for high-performance grid computing, today announced that the Voltaire InfiniBand interconnect solutions for high-speed, low-latency networking capabilities will be integrated into HP high-performance configure-to-order Linux cluster configurations. Under the terms of an agreement between the companies, Voltaire InfiniBand solutions can be resold as part of HP offerings for high-performance technical computing (HPTC) customers worldwide.

InfiniBand is a server interconnect and I/O technology that delivers high performance and scalability to server clusters. As an open industry standard, InfiniBand is widely used in high-performance computing clusters for scientific and engineering applications, the most rapidly growing segment of high-performance computing (HPC). Industry observers have linked increased InfiniBand adoption with the rapid growth of Linux, which enables powerful, yet cost-effective HPC solutions for scientific and technical computing applications.

According to IDC, HP is the leader in the Linux server market, which reached more than $900 million in factory revenue in the second quarter of 2004, representing 48.9% year-over-year growth.(1)

Voltaire offers a complete family of InfiniBand solutions including the Voltaire ISR 9288, the industry's highest port density, most scalable InfiniBand switch for building high-performance computing clusters and grids ranging from tens to thousands of nodes.

Customers have already benefited from Voltaire's work with HP. Shanghai University recently completed an installation consisting of 174 HP ProLiant DL360 servers and InfiniBand solutions from Voltaire. CEA is using Voltaire InfiniBand interconnect solutions to power a 60 node cluster of HP ProLiant DL585 4-way Opteron servers.

"We're very excited to be selected by HP as an InfiniBand partner," said Ronnie Kenneth, CEO and chairman, Voltaire. "Users of clustered Linux solutions are looking to increase the efficiency, performance, and utilization of their systems, without a lot of added complexity and expense. Today's announcement means that together with HP we can deliver these benefits to these important customers."

"InfiniBand is a strategic technology for HP's Linux cluster offerings and our customers continue to ask for the technology," said Ty Rabe, director of research and development, HPC Division, HP. "Under the agreement with Voltaire, we will be able to offer our customers InfiniBand configure-to-order Linux cluster solutions using low- and high-port count switches that deliver impressive performance and scalability, yet are based on affordable, standards-based technology."

About Voltaire

Voltaire is the leader in interconnect solutions for high-performance grid computing. Voltaire's InfiniBand-based interconnect solutions deliver significant return on investment to the data center by improving the performance and utilization of clustered databases, shared servers and storage. For HPC customers, Voltaire leads the industry with the largest InfiniBand Trade Association-certified switch to support clusters scaling from hundreds to thousands of nodes. With business headquarters near Boston, Massachusetts, Voltaire is certified by the IBTA's Integrator's List. More information about Voltaire is available at www.voltaire.com or by calling 1-800-865-8247.

(1) IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Server Tracker, August 2004