SGI to Deploy SUSE Linux on SGI Altix 3000 Servers; SUSE Joins SGI in Scaling
Linux to 128 Processors
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. and OAKLAND, Calif. 08/25/2003 SGI (NYSE:
SGI) and SUSE Linux today announced plans to extend Linux to new levels of
scalability and performance - offering, for the first time, a fully supported
64-processor system running a fully supported, enterprise-grade Linux operating
system.
Available in October, SGI will bundle SUSE Linux Enterprise Sever 8 on SGI®
Altix(tm) 3000 servers and superclusters. SUSE Linux will provide support for
the unique 64-processor single-node scaling capabilities of the SGI Altix 3000
platform. SUSE will also provide 3rd-level support to SGI customers in a
seamless support agreement with SGI.
The companies also announced that SUSE and SGI will work on co-development
efforts, including SGI's program to scale Linux to 128 processors, which the
companies anticipate will be available next year.
While other hardware vendors and Linux distributions support only small systems
and partitions running Linux, SGI and SUSE have the ability to deliver
large-scale systems - with nodes from 8 to 64 and soon to 128 processors -
capable of addressing high performance computing and technical database
requirements. This collaboration opens doors for further expansion of standard
Linux in the marketplace.
"Oracle welcomes SGI and SUSE partnership as it will enable Oracle customers
on that platform to avail themselves of Oracle's support for Linux," said Dave
Dargo, vice president Platform Partners, Linux and Performance, Oracle Corp.
"SGI servers, coupled with solutions based on Oracle Database and SUSE Linux
Enterprise Server, will give customers increased choice for their enterprise
Linux applications."
"The partnership of SGI and SUSE will drive the adoption of
high-performance Linux systems, and creates further distinctions between
symmetric multiprocessing systems and NUMA-based shared memory
architectures," said Stacey Quandt, independent industry analyst.
Not only will the companies continue to expand the capabilities and reach of
SUSE Linux, the new offering broadens the market opportunities for both SGI and
SuSE. Together the companies will develop and deliver an offering for customers
whose technical or scientific applications interact with additional large-scale
databases and other infrastructure software. Ideal for a broad range of markets
- from bio-informatics to automotive design - the combined offering provides
industry-leading computing power, bandwidth and database performance.
"SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 8, certified for the industry's key hardware and
software, will enable Altix customers to leverage the inherent security and
stability of Linux," said Uwe Heine, chief alliance officer, SUSE Linux.
"Together, SUSE and SGI can deliver high-performance Linux systems capable of
handling the unique system load demands of scalable integer processing,
throughput and memory."
The SGI Altix 3000 family of servers and superclusters combines SGI®
supercomputing architecture with Intel® Itanium® 2 processors and the Linux
operating system. Since its introduction, the SGI Altix 3700 supercluster has
been recognized as the first Linux cluster that scales up to 64 processors
within each node and the first cluster ever to allow global shared-memory
access across nodes. Inspired by the success of the SGI Altix family and the
powerful combination of standard Linux on Intel® processors, more than 60
high-performance manufacturing, science, energy and environmental applications
have been ported by their commercial developers to the 64-bit Linux
environment, more than two-thirds of which have been certified and optimized
for the platform.
"SUSEsupport of advanced Linux features, such as scalability, the XFS
filesystem, security, and native 64-bit environments provide SGI and SUSE with
a wealth of opportunities to collaborate going forward," said Dave Parry,
senior vice president and general manager, Server and Platform Group, SGI. "As
a highly respected and experienced provider of open source solutions, SuSE
shares SGI's vision of a broadly scalable and robust Linux environment for
technical and scientific computing."
August 5, 2003 SGI announced plans to extend the Altix platform to encompass a
record 128 processors within a single instance of Linux. See the press release
entitled "SGI Leads Effort to Scale Linux to 128 Processors in a Single-System
Configuration" on www.sgi.com/newsroom.
Availability
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 will be available on Altix systems from SGI and
SUSE in October 2003. SGI Altix 3000 servers and superclusters supporting
64-processor nodes, in configurations up to 128 Intel Itanium 2 processors, are
available today from SGI. For customers demanding even larger Altix
superclusters, SGI expects to support configurations of 256 processors in
September and 512 processors in October 2003. Additional Altix system technical
and availability information is posted on www.sgi.com/servers/altix.
This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding SGI
technologies and third-party technologies that are subject to risks and
uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to
differ materially from those described in such statements. The reader is
cautioned not to rely unduly on these forward-looking statements, which are not
a guarantee of future or current performance. Such risks and uncertainties
include long-term program commitments, the performance of third parties, the
sustained performance of current and future products, financing risks, the
ability to integrate and support a complex technology solution involving
multiple providers and users, and other risks detailed from time to time in the
company's most recent SEC reports, including its reports on Form 10-K and Form
10-Q.
About SGI
SGI, also known as Silicon Graphics, Inc., is the world's leader in
high-performance computing, visualization and storage. SGI's vision is to
provide technology that enables the most significant scientific and creative
breakthroughs of the 21st century. Whether it's sharing images to aid in brain
surgery, finding oil more efficiently, studying global climate or enabling the
transition from analog to digital broadcasting, SGI is dedicated to addressing
the next class of challenges for scientific, engineering and creative users.
SGI was named on FORTUNE magazine's 2003 list of "Top 100 Companies to Work
For." With offices worldwide, the company is headquartered in Mountain View,
Calif., and can be found on the Web at www.sgi.com.
Media Contact:
Ginny Babbitt
SGI
650-933-4519
ginnyb@sgi.com
Silicon Graphics, SGI and the SGI logo are registered trademarks and Altix is a
trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc., in the United States and/or other
countries worldwide. SUSE is a registered trademark of SUSE Linux AG. Linux is
a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. Intel and Itanium are registered
trademarks of Intel Corporation. Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle
Corporation and/or its affiliates. All other trademarks mentioned herein are
the property of their respective owners.
About Novell
Novell, Inc. is a leading provider of information solutions that deliver secure identity management (Novell® Nsure™), Web application development (Novell exteNd™) and cross-platform networking services (Novell Nterprise™), all supported by strategic consulting and professional services (Novell NgageSM). Active in the open source community with its Ximian and SUSE Linux brands, Novell is firmly committed to open source and offers comprehensive Linux products and services for the enterprise, from the desktop to the server. Novell's vision of one Net - a world without information boundaries - helps customers realize the value of their information securely and economically. For more information, call Novell's Customer Response Center at (888) 321-4CRC (4272) or visit http://www.novell.com. Press should visit http://www.novell.com/pressroom.
Novell is a registered trademarks; Nsure, exteNd and Nteprise are trademarks; and Ngage is a service mark of Novell, Inc. in the United States and other countries. SUSE is a registered trademark of SUSE Linux AG. * All third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Press Contact:
Jasmin Ul-Haque
Novell, Inc
Phone: +44 (0)1344 326-900
E-mail: juh@novell.com
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