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Qlogic Case Study

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IBM India Smarter Computing
IBM India Smarter Computing

The German Climate Computing Centre (DKRZ) provides computing resources and data management for climate research. It needed more powerful systems to handle increasing data demands. DKRZ purchased an IBM POWER6 cluster with QLogic InfiniBand switches. This exceeded performance expectations, ranking 27th on the Top500 list. The switches also simplified storage integration and management.

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Case study ReservedforGraphic German Climate Computing Center CustomerProfile QLogic InfiniBand Switches TheGermanClimateComputingCentre(DKRZ)provideshigh-performance Exceed Performance Expectations computingplatformsandsophisticated,high-capacitydatamanagementto German research groups working on climate and earth system research. LocatedintheheartoftheKlimaCampusinHamburg,Germany,thenon- profit organization serves more than 1,000 researchers nationally and Problem internationally. The German Climate Computing Centre (DKRZ) needed to stay at the forefront of climate research, Compared to other computer centers, DKRZ is unique in fully integrating but its system was beginning to show its age. The computer and data services to manage the petabytes of data typically organization began searching for a new system produced by global climate models—research that takes several months and a new interconnect that could deliver superior torunandrequireshigh-performancecomputersandsomeoftheworld’s performance. largestclustersystems. ProblemStatement Solution DKRZ had been using NEC® SX-6 Vector Machines and the interconnect DKRZ purchased an IBM® POWER6® cluster with an that was proprietary to the supercomputer.  However, the system began integrated interconnect comprising QLogic® 9240 to show its age, and DKRZ decided that it needed more performance to switchestomeettherequiredperformancelevelsin continueservingtheincreasingneedsofitsresearchers.Infact,datacenter theorganization’sdemandingproductionenvironment. performanceiscentraltotheorganization’sservices. “Ultimatelyourexistenceistoassuretheavailabilityandtheperformance Results ofallofourdatacentercomponents,”saidMr.Garternicht.“Ourgoalisto The system recorded a peak performance deliveraccurateclimatepredictionsasquicklyaspossible.” measurement of 115.9 teraflops on the Top 500 comparison test, which ranked the system the 27th One other issue with the system was the difficulty in connecting to the fastestsupercomputerintheworld.Inaddition,DKRZ organization’sstoragedata. fully integrated its storage management system into thenewinterconnect. “Theproblemwasthat,duetotheproprietarynatureoftheinterconnect, “TheQLogicswitchesatDKRZmeetandexceedourdemandingperformance expectations.Likeallthebestsolutions,wefindthemincrediblyreliable,almost transparent,andselfrunning.” ReservedforGraphic —UlfGarternicht,DKRZ 
Case study German Climate Computing Center QLogic InfiniBand Switches Exceed Performance Expectations thesesystemsdidnotallowtheintegrationofstoragemanagement management and monitoring, reducing error rates.  The switches systemsdirectlyintotheinterconnect,”saidUlfGarternicht,headof simplifiedtheidentificationanddiagnosisofcomplexproblemsby theSystemsDepartmentatDKRZ. providingongoingmonitoring. QLogicSolution TheBottomLine To resolve the system performance issue, DKRZ purchased the TheIBMPOWER6clusterandtheQLogic9240InfiniBandswitches IBM® POWER6® cluster for use with an InfiniBand interconnect.  delivered the performance benefits DKRZ needed.  “The QLogic The organization purchased QLogic InfiniBand switches for the switches at DKRZ meet and exceed our demanding performance interconnect because of their proven, seamless integration; expectations.  Like all the best solutions, we find them incredibly certification; and connectivity with IBM POWER6. Another reason reliable, almost transparent, and self running,” concluded Mr. DKRZ selected QLogic switches was for their ability to overcome Garternicht. systembottlenecks.TheorganizationpurchasedeightQLogic9240 InfiniBandswitches,whichwereinstalledinaparalleltopology(all QLogicInfiniBandAdaptersandSwitches nodeswereconnectedtoeachoftheeightswitches).Accordingto DKRZ,theQLogicInfiniBandswitchesrepresentthebestinterconnect TheQLogic9000Seriesof20Gb/sDDRdirectorsandedgeswitches solutionavailableonthemarket. are the most highly integrated cluster computing interconnect solutionavailable.AnidealsolutionforHighPerformanceComputing (HPC),databaseclustering,andgridutilitycomputingapplications, BusinessBenefitsoftheQLogicSolution the9000FabricDirectorsaredesignedtomaximizeclusterandgrid By using the IBM POWER6 cluster in combination with the computinginterconnectperformancewhilesimplifyingandreducing QLogic InfiniBand switches, DKRZ achieved several performance thecostofoperatingadatacenter. improvementsinitsdatacenter.First,theoverallspeedinthedata centerwasenhanced.Afterseveralmonthsofperformancetesting,  The QLogic 12000 Series represents a new class of InfiniBand DKRZ’ssystemwasrankedasthe27thfastestsupercomputerinthe switching for HPC.  Based on the QLogic TrueScale™ ASIC world during the June 2009TOP500 comparison test, which uses platform, these advanced 40Gb/s QDR InfiniBand switches offer the LINPACK benchmark.  DKRZ’s total system peak performance thehighestportcount,thehighestportdensity,themostflexibility, measured115.9teraflops—theorganization’sbestresultonthetest with the lowest power requirements per port than any other rack todate. mountablesolutionavailableonthemarket.The12000Serieswith the QLogic InfiniBand Fabric Suite also represents a new class of Second,theorganizationcouldfullyintegrateitshighperformance easier to use but more powerful InfiniBand fabric management. storage system (HPSS), which manages the DKRZ’s data archive, QLogicInfiniBandFabricSuitesimplifiesInfiniBandnetworkingwith into the interconnect, providing unprecedented data transfer rates automated installation, configuration, and monitoring of the fabric. toandfromthearchive. InfiniBandFabricSuitemakesInfiniBandfabricmanagementmore powerfulwithadvancedQoS,adaptiveroutingandvFabric™,virtual Third, the QLogic InfiniBand switches helped to improve system InfiniBandfabricsthatimprovetheutilizationofInfiniBandresources. Corporate Headquarters QLogic Corporation 26650 aliso Viejo Parkway aliso Viejo, Ca 92656 949.389.6000 www.qlogic.com europe Headquarters QLogic (uK) Ltd. Quatro House Lyon Way, Frimley Camberley surrey, Gu16 7eR uK +44 (0) 1276 804 670 © 2010 QLogic Corporation. specifications are subject to change without notice. all rights reserved worldwide. QLogic and the QLogic logo are registered trademarks of QLogic Corporation. truescale and vFabric are trademarks of QLogic Corporation. InfiniBand is a registered trademark and service mark of the InfiniBand trade association. NeC is a registered trademark of NeC Corporation. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. POWeR6 is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. all other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Information supplied by QLogic Corporation is believed to be accurate and reliable. QLogic Corporation assumes no respon- sibility for any errors in this brochure. QLogic Corporation reserves the right, without notice, to make changes in product design or specifications.  SN0330904-00A 2 

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Qlogic Case Study

  • 1. Case study ReservedforGraphic German Climate Computing Center CustomerProfile QLogic InfiniBand Switches TheGermanClimateComputingCentre(DKRZ)provideshigh-performance Exceed Performance Expectations computingplatformsandsophisticated,high-capacitydatamanagementto German research groups working on climate and earth system research. LocatedintheheartoftheKlimaCampusinHamburg,Germany,thenon- profit organization serves more than 1,000 researchers nationally and Problem internationally. The German Climate Computing Centre (DKRZ) needed to stay at the forefront of climate research, Compared to other computer centers, DKRZ is unique in fully integrating but its system was beginning to show its age. The computer and data services to manage the petabytes of data typically organization began searching for a new system produced by global climate models—research that takes several months and a new interconnect that could deliver superior torunandrequireshigh-performancecomputersandsomeoftheworld’s performance. largestclustersystems. ProblemStatement Solution DKRZ had been using NEC® SX-6 Vector Machines and the interconnect DKRZ purchased an IBM® POWER6® cluster with an that was proprietary to the supercomputer.  However, the system began integrated interconnect comprising QLogic® 9240 to show its age, and DKRZ decided that it needed more performance to switchestomeettherequiredperformancelevelsin continueservingtheincreasingneedsofitsresearchers.Infact,datacenter theorganization’sdemandingproductionenvironment. performanceiscentraltotheorganization’sservices. “Ultimatelyourexistenceistoassuretheavailabilityandtheperformance Results ofallofourdatacentercomponents,”saidMr.Garternicht.“Ourgoalisto The system recorded a peak performance deliveraccurateclimatepredictionsasquicklyaspossible.” measurement of 115.9 teraflops on the Top 500 comparison test, which ranked the system the 27th One other issue with the system was the difficulty in connecting to the fastestsupercomputerintheworld.Inaddition,DKRZ organization’sstoragedata. fully integrated its storage management system into thenewinterconnect. “Theproblemwasthat,duetotheproprietarynatureoftheinterconnect, “TheQLogicswitchesatDKRZmeetandexceedourdemandingperformance expectations.Likeallthebestsolutions,wefindthemincrediblyreliable,almost transparent,andselfrunning.” ReservedforGraphic —UlfGarternicht,DKRZ 
  • 2. Case study German Climate Computing Center QLogic InfiniBand Switches Exceed Performance Expectations thesesystemsdidnotallowtheintegrationofstoragemanagement management and monitoring, reducing error rates.  The switches systemsdirectlyintotheinterconnect,”saidUlfGarternicht,headof simplifiedtheidentificationanddiagnosisofcomplexproblemsby theSystemsDepartmentatDKRZ. providingongoingmonitoring. QLogicSolution TheBottomLine To resolve the system performance issue, DKRZ purchased the TheIBMPOWER6clusterandtheQLogic9240InfiniBandswitches IBM® POWER6® cluster for use with an InfiniBand interconnect.  delivered the performance benefits DKRZ needed.  “The QLogic The organization purchased QLogic InfiniBand switches for the switches at DKRZ meet and exceed our demanding performance interconnect because of their proven, seamless integration; expectations.  Like all the best solutions, we find them incredibly certification; and connectivity with IBM POWER6. Another reason reliable, almost transparent, and self running,” concluded Mr. DKRZ selected QLogic switches was for their ability to overcome Garternicht. systembottlenecks.TheorganizationpurchasedeightQLogic9240 InfiniBandswitches,whichwereinstalledinaparalleltopology(all QLogicInfiniBandAdaptersandSwitches nodeswereconnectedtoeachoftheeightswitches).Accordingto DKRZ,theQLogicInfiniBandswitchesrepresentthebestinterconnect TheQLogic9000Seriesof20Gb/sDDRdirectorsandedgeswitches solutionavailableonthemarket. are the most highly integrated cluster computing interconnect solutionavailable.AnidealsolutionforHighPerformanceComputing (HPC),databaseclustering,andgridutilitycomputingapplications, BusinessBenefitsoftheQLogicSolution the9000FabricDirectorsaredesignedtomaximizeclusterandgrid By using the IBM POWER6 cluster in combination with the computinginterconnectperformancewhilesimplifyingandreducing QLogic InfiniBand switches, DKRZ achieved several performance thecostofoperatingadatacenter. improvementsinitsdatacenter.First,theoverallspeedinthedata centerwasenhanced.Afterseveralmonthsofperformancetesting,  The QLogic 12000 Series represents a new class of InfiniBand DKRZ’ssystemwasrankedasthe27thfastestsupercomputerinthe switching for HPC.  Based on the QLogic TrueScale™ ASIC world during the June 2009TOP500 comparison test, which uses platform, these advanced 40Gb/s QDR InfiniBand switches offer the LINPACK benchmark.  DKRZ’s total system peak performance thehighestportcount,thehighestportdensity,themostflexibility, measured115.9teraflops—theorganization’sbestresultonthetest with the lowest power requirements per port than any other rack todate. mountablesolutionavailableonthemarket.The12000Serieswith the QLogic InfiniBand Fabric Suite also represents a new class of Second,theorganizationcouldfullyintegrateitshighperformance easier to use but more powerful InfiniBand fabric management. storage system (HPSS), which manages the DKRZ’s data archive, QLogicInfiniBandFabricSuitesimplifiesInfiniBandnetworkingwith into the interconnect, providing unprecedented data transfer rates automated installation, configuration, and monitoring of the fabric. toandfromthearchive. InfiniBandFabricSuitemakesInfiniBandfabricmanagementmore powerfulwithadvancedQoS,adaptiveroutingandvFabric™,virtual Third, the QLogic InfiniBand switches helped to improve system InfiniBandfabricsthatimprovetheutilizationofInfiniBandresources. Corporate Headquarters QLogic Corporation 26650 aliso Viejo Parkway aliso Viejo, Ca 92656 949.389.6000 www.qlogic.com europe Headquarters QLogic (uK) Ltd. Quatro House Lyon Way, Frimley Camberley surrey, Gu16 7eR uK +44 (0) 1276 804 670 © 2010 QLogic Corporation. specifications are subject to change without notice. all rights reserved worldwide. QLogic and the QLogic logo are registered trademarks of QLogic Corporation. truescale and vFabric are trademarks of QLogic Corporation. InfiniBand is a registered trademark and service mark of the InfiniBand trade association. NeC is a registered trademark of NeC Corporation. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. POWeR6 is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. all other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Information supplied by QLogic Corporation is believed to be accurate and reliable. QLogic Corporation assumes no respon- sibility for any errors in this brochure. QLogic Corporation reserves the right, without notice, to make changes in product design or specifications.  SN0330904-00A 2