Press Release

SGI Altix Systems with Up to 8TB of Global Shared Memory Raise the Bar Again for HPC and Business Computing

Silicon Graphics Technology Opens New Opportunities for Industrial and Research Customers

SUNNYVALE, Calif. (December 8, 2008) — Silicon Graphics, Inc. (SGI) (NASDAQ: SGIC) global shared memory architecture enables industrial, government and university researchers to gain insight into larger data sets than ever thought possible. With 8TB of global shared memory, SGI® Altix® systems are able to hold entire data sets in memory and eliminate many types of application and system I/O — accelerating scientific research and I/O bound business computing problems.

With up to 8TB of global shared memory with as few as 12 processor cores, SGI Altix 4700 systems are enabling applications for a number of important projects:

  • NASA's SGI Altix 4700 system, installed at the NASA Advanced Supercomputing facility at Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif. in August 2007, was the first supercomputer to operate 2,048 processor cores and 4TB of memory under a single copy of the Linux® operating system - by processor count, the largest single system image (SSI) based upon the Linux operating system in the world.
  • At the Center for Information Services and High-Performance Computing at Technische Universität Dresden (TU Dresden), an SGI Altix 4700 system powered by 2,048 Intel® Itanium® processor cores and 6.5TB of main memory is enabling researchers throughout Germany to break through information processing barriers in a broad range of disciplines. For example, a team of German researchers is running complex simulations to determine how medical device makers might fuse biological materials with plastics or ceramics to create the ideal hip replacement. TU Dresden's system has enabled over a 100 fold speedup in running complex simulations, with a large eddy simulation that used to take more than three months, completing overnight on the SGI Altix 4700 system.
  • The Institute for Molecular Science in Japan uses a 512-core SGI Altix 4700 system with 6TB shared memory and a 128-core SGI Altix 4700 with 2TB shared memory. Because of SGI's scalable architecture, both systems can be attached and create an 8TB global shared memory environment.
  • SGI Altix systems with 4TB to 8TB of memory are also being used to develop advanced reservoir simulation applications and models which can increase the fraction of discovered oil that can be recovered — extending their life by many years and increasing their value by billions of dollars.

"With 8TB of global shared memory on the SGI Altix 4700, scientists and engineers around the world are able to boost productivity by integrating theory, simulation and experimentation more closely than every before," said Michael Brown, director of server and visualization marketing at Silicon Graphics. "With 8TB of global shared memory, scientists, engineers and businesses can solve problems that are 4x larger than on the largest systems from IBM and HP, and 8x larger than the largest systems available from Sun. This allows developers to link multi-disciplinary applications that operate on different scales to create more complete pictures of their work — gaining invaluable insights that lead to breakthrough results."

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Silicon Graphics, Inc. Silicon Graphics, Inc. (SGI) (NASDAQ: SGIC), is a leader in high-performance computing. SGI delivers a complete range of high-performance server and storage solutions along with industry-leading professional services and support that enable its customers to overcome the challenges of complex data-intensive workflows and accelerate breakthrough discoveries, innovation and information transformation. SGI solutions help customers solve their computing challenges whether it's enhancing the quality of life through drug research, designing and manufacturing safer and more efficient cars and airplanes, studying global climate, providing technologies for homeland security and defense, or helping enterprises manage large data. With offices worldwide, the company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, and can be found on the Web at www.sgi.com.

Note: SGI corporate phone numbers in Sunnyvale, CA are changing to reflect the local area code. The new main number for SGI corporate headquarters is 408-524-1980.

Silicon Graphics, SGI, the SGI cube, the SGI logo, SGI Altix, and NUMAflex are registered trademarks of SGI in the United States and/or other countries worldwide. Intel and Itanium are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in several countries. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.