Re: "AMD's Athlon 4 edging toward 1.6GHz
Microprocessor launch kick-starts transition toward higher clock speeds
By Jack Robertson "
Jack Robertson is the AMD schill that published an article about IBM using the Dual AthWiper in a server - about two months ago.
He apparently has it on his agenda - probably PAID by AMD - tp publish pro-AMD propoganda on a monthly basis.
By the way- here's IBM's latest dual CPU server announcement:
"The supercomputer, which already is installed, is made up of 256 server computers, each containing two Intel processors. "
IBM Linux supercomputers land oil deal
By Bloomberg News
May 25, 2001, 9:20 a.m. PT
news.cnet.com
IBM, a key backer of the Linux operating system, has sold a Linux supercomputer to WesternGeco for oil exploration after similar sales to Chevron and Royal Dutch/Shell Group.
Terms of the sale to U.K.-based WesternGeco, an exploration-services company, weren't disclosed. The supercomputer, which already is installed, is made up of 256 server computers, each containing two Intel processors. The system runs software that converts seismic soundings to digital maps so WesternGeco clients can distinguish oil fields from other underground formations.
IBM is selling relatively inexpensive supercomputers to the oil industry and expects sales to grow, David Turek, head of Linux emerging technologies in IBM's server group, said. Clusters of small servers linked by the free Linux system are particularly well suited to programs that graphically display seismic data, he said. Such supercomputers can be purchased for less than $1 million.
"We see Linux clustering in the oil industry growing at a very rapid rate," Turek said. "The applications map to it very nicely."
Supercomputers typically divide large problems into many small calculations that can be processed simultaneously rather than in sequence. Though Linux is not yet suited to handling calculations on large servers with more than eight processors, it can smoothly link smaller servers to let them act as a single computer, Turek said. The linked computers are managed from a single console.
The retail price of x330 servers similar to those purchased by WesternGeco is about $3,000, according to IBM's Web site.
In December, Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM said it had sold the largest commercial computer running Linux to Royal Dutch/Shell Group, the No. 2 publicly traded oil company. That system consisted of 1,024 x330 computers.
Earlier this month, France's Compagnie Generale de Geophysique, an exploration-services company, bought a Linux-based IBM supercomputer with 640 servers. Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil company, is installing a similar Linux machine, IBM spokesman John Buscemi said. He declined to reveal its size.
By linking small servers with software that does not have to be licensed, oil companies can "get to a pretty attractive price point," Turek said.
WesternGeco said the supercomputer will cut to three weeks jobs that previously took eight weeks to process. The company is 70 percent owned by Schlumberger, the second-largest provider of oil-field services.
Linux, an updated version of the Unix operating system, was created by Linus Torvalds and made available on the Internet. Linux-based operating systems are free, and companies can change or copy them without charge as long as they openly share any improvements they make.
IBM, which plans to spend $1 billion to promote and develop Linux this year, is hoping it will gain greater acceptance among large companies.
IBM shares rose $2.20 to $119.60 yesterday. They've risen 41 percent this year. Schlumberger fell $1.15 to $63.85.
Copyright 2001, Bloomberg L.P. All Rights Reserved.
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