Sun HPC 10000 Server
Facilitates
Computationally
Intensive Genetic
Analysis Programs
National Center for Genome Resources Selects Sun
HPC
10000 Server for Consolidation of Bioinformatics Databases.
PALO ALTO, CA--The National Center for
Genome Resources (NCGR) and Sun Microsystems, Inc.
today announced NCGR has selected a SunTM HPC 10000
server to provide improved performance and reliability for
users of bioinformatics software and genomic databases.
NCGR is one of four international centers providing central
organization and analysis of genetic information flowing in
from all parts of the globe, including the Human Genome
Project. The Sun HPC 10000 server, popularly known as the
StarfireTM server, will manage large relational databases of
genetic information maintained by NCGR, including the
Genome Sequence DataBase and an agricultural genomics
database. Unification of database and compute services on
the Sun HPC 10000 server will yield increased performance
for analytical tasks requiring database connectivity.
The non-profit NCGR is one of two public repositories for
human genomic data in the United States. The center
facilitates the storage, annotation, access, visualization and
analysis of biological data gathered from scientists mapping
and sequencing the genetic makeup of humans (the Human
Genome Project), plants, other animals, microbes and other
organisms. Analysis of this data leads to a better
understanding of genetics as well as to practical applications
in medicine, agriculture and other fields.
"NCGR is constantly seeking to develop and acquire better
computational tools for our genomic databases to better
serve the research community," President and CEO Robert
E. Dunkle said. "Acquisition of the Sun HPC 10000 server
represents a leap forward for NCGR because it enables us to
make extensive use of new database server technology.
With this level of computing power, we have positioned
NCGR to meet the increased demands for our services for
the foreseeable future."
The greater computing power and high availability offered by
the new Sun HPC 10000 server augments NCGR's ability to
provide useful data to the worldwide research community.
Internal and external users will be able to analyze genetic
data sets, such as the Genome Sequence DataBase, using
various software programs developed by NCGR and
elsewhere. Internally developed applications include
MAR-Finder, a gene sequence analysis tool used to identify
DNA regions involved in attachment to the nuclear matrix,
and the soon-to-be-released Sequence Viewer, a JavaTM
technology-based graphical utility used to view a DNA
sequence and its associated features. In addition, the
Starfire server will enable researchers to better execute
computationally intensive applications such as phylogenetic
tree programs that find trees of genes; hidden Markov model
fitting, which searches genetic sequences for specific
patterns; motif searching; and genetic map construction.
Also, the server's multiprocessor architecture enables the
potential use of parallel database servers to increase
database performance.
"We are incredibly pleased with the opportunity to pair
with
NCGR," said Clark Masters, vice president and general
manager of Sun's data center and high performance
computing group. "The implementation of Starfire is an
opportunity not only to showcase the Sun HPC strategies
and solutions, but more importantly to further aid the medical
research community with its initiatives for the overall
advancement of science."
The Sun HPC 10000 server provides NCGR with the
capability to deliver reliable levels of service to users,
because it enables centralized administration of multiple
databases and provides growing room for the development
of future projects. In addition, the Sun HPC 10000 is the only
computer of its size that runs the SolarisTM operating
environment--the same platform as many of NCGR's other
computers.
"It's amazing that we were able to purchase an off-the-shelf
supercomputer that fully integrates with our existing software
and systems, as well as one that offers the high level of
service and support we've come to expect from Sun," said
Peter L. Wargo, group leader for systems administration at
NCGR.
Sun HPC Servers
The Sun HPC server family is a line of seven
high-performance SMP systems with binary compatibility
across the company's product line. The Sun HPC servers,
ranging in size from a four-processor Sun HPC 450 system
to the 64-processor Sun HPC 10000 system, now are
available with the new 336 MHz UltraSPARCTM II CPU.
The Sun HPC servers are complemented by Sun's HPC 2.0
software, designed specifically for compute-intensive,
technical computing environments. Sun's HPC 2.0 software
enables both the development and execution of serial and
parallelized high-performance applications. It provides
middleware to facilitate and manage the workload of highly
resource-intensive applications on Sun's HPC servers, as
well as clusters of these servers. Additionally, it provides
the
software development environment for creating and
debugging applications that are parallelized for Sun's HPC
servers and clusters.
About Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision, "The
Network Is
The ComputerTM," has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc.
(NASDAQ: SUNW), to its position as a leading provider of
high quality hardware, software and services for establishing
enterprise-wide intranets and expanding the power of the
Internet. With more than $9.5 billion in annual revenues, Sun
can be found in more than 150 countries and on the World
Wide Web at http://www.sun.com.
About NCGR
The National Center for Genome Resources (www.ncgr.org)
is a nonprofit bioinformatics organization serving science and
society. The center operates through partnerships with
leading research organizations engaged in pioneering
genetic research activities focused on basic biological
problems or diseases. NCGR supports these efforts with
broad-based, expert biologic and bioinformatic skills, with
a
goal of providing the best possible service to genomics
researchers.
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