USA: Texas A&M University Selects Bright Cluster Manager for its HPC Cluster

Bright Computing announced that the Department of Oceanography at Texas A&M University has selected Bright Cluster Manager® to manage its AMD Opteron-based HPC Cluster. This system, installed by Bright partner Advanced HPC, is being used to study the environmental impact of oil spills and poisonous algae, as well as ocean currents as a predictor of weather forecasts.

Each year there are hundreds of ocean oil spills. Through its HPC clusters, Texas A&M is able to conduct forensic analysis, create operational models and run thousands of simulations based on the location of oil rigs, statistical maps, and models of the ocean floor. This research results in more accurate predictions on the expected reach of a spill, how it will affect the shoreline, and the extent of the damage. These models also support recommendations for the safest and most effective ways to clean up a spill.

Additional HPC-related research from the department of Oceanography spans various departments throughout Texas A&M University including physics, biology and geology. This research enables professors and students to advance their knowledge of oceanography and its sustaining life forms.

“HPC provides the backbone for our research,” said Rob Hetland, associate professor, Department of Oceanography, Texas A&M University. “We rely on Bright Cluster Manager as part of our larger HPC environment. Its easy to use and displays critical information such as dips in CPU performance in a graphically appealing interface. This allows us to always have critical information available.”

Texas A&M University uses Bright Cluster Manager to provision, monitor and manage a cluster to better understand the flow of ocean currents. Bright’s software also addresses the department’s requirements to more effectively run CPU- and bandwidth-intensive computing programs that support computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and hydrodynamic models of ocean flow.

About Texas A&M Department of Oceanography

The Department of Oceanography is committed to the discovery and dissemination of knowledge about the ocean. We educate students about the ocean in the classroom and develop their research skills by involving them directly in research ashore and on ships in all oceans of the world. We study processes and interactions among oceans, atmosphere, biosphere and geosphere by collecting, analyzing, and modeling large data sets to solve important complex problems of immediate and long-term concern to society.

About Bright Computing

Bright Computing is a specialist in cluster management software and services for high-performance computing (HPC). Its flagship product — Bright Cluster Manager — with its intuitive graphical user interface and powerful cluster management shell, makes clusters of any size easy to install, use and manage, including systems combining Intel/AMD processors with GPGPU technology. Bright’s minimal footprint enables HPC systems to be utilized to their maximum potential, from departmental clusters to large-scale systems. Bright Cluster Manager is the management solution of choice for many research institutes, universities, and companies across the world, including several Top500 installations. Bright Cluster Manager is an official Intel Cluster Ready component and fully complies with the Intel® Cluster Ready specification.

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Subsea World News Staff , December 15, 2011;  Image: Bright Computing