Defense Department invests in Linux supercomputers

As part of a program to modernize its high-performance computing capabilities, the Defense Department placed an order with Linux Networx for five supercomputers, company officials said.

The Defense Department purchased three Advanced Technology Clusters and two LS-1 computers, one for the Army Research Laboratory Major Shared Resource Center and one for Dugway Proving Ground, said officials from the Bluffdale, Utah, company.

The purchase increases the lab's Major Shared Resource Center computing capability to more than 80 trillion floating-point operations, making it one of the largest computing centers in the Defense Department.

The Linux Supercomputers are part of the Technology Insertion 2006 program, an initiative to modernize the Defense Department's high-performance computing capabilities. The program provides supercomputer services, high-speed network communications and computational science expertise that enable Defense Department laboratories to conduct focused research, development and tests.

"We've observed tremendous scalability for some of our applications on our commodity clusters," said Charles Nietubicz, director of the Army Research Laboratory Major Shared Resource Center.

"The TI-06 increase in computing capability will give Defense Department scientists and engineers additional ability to solve more complex, three-dimensional, time-dependent, physics-based problems in a timeframe that can provide the data necessary to assist with weapon development and procurement decisions," he said.