The SGI Altix 3000 demonstrates record-breaking performance compared with competitive 64-bit systems on industry-standard application, processing, memory, and I/O benchmarks. Since Altix 350 uses the same NUMAflex® architecture and optimized Linux operating environment, it delivers similar capabilities and performance as the Altix 3000 for configurations up to 16 processors.

SGI's patented NUMAflex architecture is key to the scalability and performance of Altix. With NUMAflex—the world's fastest, lowest-latency interconnect—processors have direct, high-speed access to all system memory and other processors, allowing Altix systems to scale efficiently where other systems bottleneck.

Open Standards Leadership

The SGI Altix 350 is the first production-quality midrange Linux solution, and is 100% binary compatible with industry standard 64-bit Linux. Hundreds of applications have been ported and optimized for Altix, including over 80 key technical computing applications for industries such as energy, media, sciences, manufacturing and government. Working closely with software vendors, SGI continues to expand the number of optimized applications every week.

SGI has worked closely with the Linux community to improve the scalability and reliability of Linux for the most demanding applications. Even more importantly, SGI takes Linux to the next level of manageability and performance with a unique set of differentiated tools and libraries that have no equivalent on other Linux platforms. Until now, customers that needed these advanced capabilities were forced to purchase expensive proprietary UNIX platforms and software. Furthermore, SGI uniquely offers full support—front-line and back-line—for its Linux solutions. This means that customers go to a single source - SGI - to resolve technical issues for their hardware and systems software.

With open standards, unrivalled scalability and performance, comprehensive support, and a unique set of value added management tools, Altix is the first Linux solution that is truly ready for prime time.

Powering the Technical Database

Technical database applications can leverage Altix 350 for unprecedented levels of performance. Up to 192GB of shared memory allows Altix to hold large data sets entirely in memory and share data across processors for maximum performance, while extremely high I/O bandwidth (up to 7GB/sec) ensures that I/O intensive database applications run unimpeded. The modular scalability of Altix 350 makes it easy to configure the optimum amount of CPU, memory and I/O for any database application.

Altix 350 for Throughput Clusters

Since a single Altix 350 can take the place of several less capable commodity Linux servers at comparable cost, standard clusters of Altix 350 systems are an ideal solution for throughput workflows consisting of diverse jobs and applications. The proven scalability of Altix reduces the number of systems needed in a cluster, simplifying management and reducing infrastructure cost while increasing real productivity. For instance, an Altix cluster node can accommodate multiple small jobs simultaneously, or handle larger jobs that would bottleneck on a commodity cluster node. For large capacity computing jobs, an Altix 3700 supercluster is the preferred solution, with global shared memory between cluster nodes to accommodate data sets that exceed the memory of a single cluster node.

Expanding Horizons

While Altix 350 is an ideal platform for technical markets, its unique capabilities clearly make it suitable for a broad range of midrange applications that SGI hopes to serve through an expanding portfolio of resellers and other partners. With best-in-class pricing, unparalleled performance, and a robust set of tools that take Linux to a new level, Altix 350 is ready to tackle any job that comes its way. Fly, penguin, fly.