Demonstrations organized by SARA during lunchtime

OptIPuter: the Networked Computer

SARA has recently joined the OptIPuter consortium, a collaboration between various partners in the US and Europe. OptIPuter is named for its use of Optical networking, Internet Protocol, and computer storage processing, and visualization technologies.

In the consortium, the concept of the “networked computer” is being further developed. Different parts of a computer (processors, storage, display) are interconnected via high-speed optical networks, rather than backplanes or busses. The enormous connection speed of over 10 Gbps enables this development.

SARA has built both a display node, consisting of 16 large TFT panels (total resolution 6400 x 4800 pixels), and a small render cluster, consisting of 8 nodes. Using a 10 Gbps connection, the render cluster feeds the display by sending raw pixels.

Work is ongoing to integrate these resources into the global OptIPuter environment, thus allowing remote visualization and remote collaboration between all owners of appropriate OptIPuter resources.

Demonstration projects so far include: display of a very large image of Delft (78797 x 31565 pixels, courtesy TNO-TPD), display of ultra-high-resolution microscopy data of the cerebellum of a rat, courtesy UCSD's National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) and display of a clustering of the expression profiles of more than 5000 mouse chromosomes on 21 tissues, courtesy RIKEN.

Currently, SARA is looking for potential users of the system, to draft proposals for pilot projects. All visitors, but especially potential users, be it in science or industry, are invited to visit our demonstration during the lunch break of the EGC 2005 conference.

Guided tour to SARA’s HPC facilities in Amsterdam

During lunchtime there will also be an opportunity to visit SARA’s HPC facilities in Amsterdam. As a national e-Science support center, SARA houses and operates e.g. the Dutch National Supercomputer.