Roundup: Fujitsu's New Super, Force 10, Ciena

Here’s a roundup of some of some of this week’s headlines from the data center and hosting industry:

Fujitsu & Japan AEA Unveil Supercomputer. On Monday Fujitsu announced that it has  completed joint development of a new supercomputer system with the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). Clocking in at 186.1 teraflops, the new system is the fastest supercomputer in Japan, based on the November 2009 Top500list of supercomputers.  One of the systems in the supercomputer is a large-scale parallel computation unit, which uses Fujitsu's latest blade server, PRIMERGY BX900, in a configuration of 2,134 nodes (4,268 CPUs, 17,072 cores) connected using the latest InfiniBand QDR high-speed interconnect technology.  Using the LINPACK benchmark, the new system would place first among the Japanese entries posted and 19th in the world on the TOP500 list.

Force 10 Networks Achieves Highest Port Density. Force10 Networks announced the availability of a new 40-port line-card for its ExaScale virtualized core switch/router platform, setting a new benchmark for 10 Gigabit Ethernet port density. The new 40-port line card increases density on the ExaScale E1200 virtualized core switch/router to 560 10 GigE ports in a single half-rack chassis.  Parks Fields, manager at Scalable Systems Engineering at Los Alamos National Lab noted “high performance computing environments call for density, performance and reliability in the smallest energy-efficient footprint possible.  Force10 Networks continues to offer leadership in this area."  Pricing for the 40-port 10 GigE line-card starts at $97,500 and will begin shipping in the second quarter of 2010.

Ciena Powers AboveNet's Ultra-Low Latency Network.Network specialist Ciena announced that AboveNet has deployed Ciena's 2RS module for the CN 4200 FlexSelect Advanced Services Platform as a part of the service provider's recently introduced Agility Guarantee program, which provides industry-leading ultra-low latency service level agreements. The Agility Guarantee program allows AboveNet to offer a network solution that delivers round-trip latencies as low as sub-1 millisecond for some services.  “AboveNet is a long-time customer that has chosen Ciena to be among the select few vendors to provide equipment to support its network," said Mike Aquino, Senior Vice President of Global Field Operations at Ciena. "The deployment of Ciena’s 2RS modules on AboveNet’s base of CN 4200s underscores the ongoing value of that network investment and our mutual goal of enabling high-capacity, low-latency connectivity for end customers.”