SGI unveiled its Altix UV that claims to be the world’s fastest supercomputer. The Altix UV is based on quad-, six-, or eight-core Intel Xeon (Nehalem-EX) processors and allows scaling from 32 to 2,048 cores with architectural provisioning for up to 262,144 cores, while supports up to 16 terabytes of global shared memory in a single system image.
As the Altix UV is using the x86 architecture, it is able to run unmodified Novell SUSE or Red Hat Linux® operating systems, ideal for open source, custom and commercial applications.
The SGI Altix UV is available in two models:
- Altix UV 1000 — For maximum scalability, Altix UV 1000 ships as a fully integrated cabinet-level solution with up to 256 sockets (2,048 cores) and 16TB of shared memory in four racks.
- Altix UV 100 — Altix UV 100 addresses the mid-range market based on an industry-standard 19″ rackmount 3U form factor. This model scales to 96 sockets (768 cores) and 6TB of shared memory in two racks.
