Joint Project between Jackson State University and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Uses First Infiniband-Based SRC-7 Cluster

SRC Reconfigurable Computing System Will Aid Technology Advances for Science and
the U.S. Military

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.--(Business Wire)--
SRC Computers, LLC, a recognized leader in general purpose reconfigurable
computing, has announced that Jackson State University (JSU), Jackson, Miss.,
has installed an SRC-7 cluster system in support of a joint research project
between JSU and the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC).
The system being used in the JSU - ERDC joint research project is the world`s
first Infiniband-based SRC-7 MAPstation cluster, with each node having the
performance of hundreds of microprocessors. The system consumes 90 percent less
power than a microprocessor-based cluster and is easily capable of scaling to
tens of thousands of nodes.

Dr. Khalid Abed, a faculty member in the Department of Computer Engineering at
JSU, is the principal investigator on this research effort, which deals with
accelerating scientific applications with high performance reconfigurable
computing (HPRC). "Microprocessor-based HPC clusters are facing formidable
challenges such as run time performance, memory bottlenecks, floor space, and
power dissipation. HPRC is emerging as a new research area that may provide
solutions to some of these challenges. The SRC-7 system will allow us to
investigate how to map complex parallel codes onto HPRC clusters." Professor
Abed further noted, "Reconfigurable supercomputers allow researchers to
reconfigure the hardware for different computing applications to achieve optimum
performance for such applications instead of running different types of
applications on a fixed supercomputer."

Dr. Gerald Morris, a computer scientist at the ERDC Department of Defense (DoD)
Supercomputing Resource Center (DSRC), who is the Government technical lead on
the project, believes that SRC advances in reconfigurable computing may have a
considerable impact on the program. "A significant benefit of this system is the
SRC Carte Programming Environment. Carte allows the development of
hardware-based computational kernels using either high-level languages like C or
Fortran or hardware description languages like VHDL or Verilog." Dr. Morris
added, "Carte abstracts away some of the underlying design details. This is
particularly important when trying to map floating-point applications onto
reconfigurable hardware, which is still a challenging research area."

Jon Huppenthal, President and CEO of SRC Computers, said, "This system is built
using the same commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) modules that we have qualified
for airborne use, making it an ideal choice for military applications. We're
very proud that our systems are being used to advance our country`s military
capabilities."

About JSU

Jackson State University, one of the Historically Black Colleges or Universities
(HBCU), is a public institution of higher learning located in the metropolitan
area of Jackson, Miss. JSU is committed to excellence in teaching and research,
and The Carnegie Foundation designates it as a research university with high
activity RU/H. JSU educates a diverse student population from Mississippi, most
other states, and many foreign countries by providing a broad range of
baccalaureate programs and a variety of masters and doctoral programs in its six
Colleges: Business; Education and Human Development; Liberal Arts; Lifelong
Learning; Public Service; and Science, Engineering, and Technology. JSU is
strategically committed to excellence in engineering education and research. In
Jan. 2009, JSU completed construction of a new School of Engineering building
(90,000 square feet) at the cost of about $22 million, indicating a strong
commitment to engineering education. JSU`s School of Engineering Web site
address is www.jsums.edu/~sst/cset/engineering.htm.

About ERDC

ERDC is the research and development organization for the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers with more than 2,000 employees, $1.2 billion in facilities, and an
annual research program exceeding $1 billion. ERDC conducts research in both
military and civilian mission areas for the Department of Defense and the nation
with laboratory facilities in four states. The ERDC Web site address is
www.erdc.usace.army.mil.

About SRC

SRC Computers, LLC, is a recognized leader in general purpose reconfigurable
computing and offers powerful programmer-friendly servers, workstations, and
embedded systems. Established in 1996 by legendary computer architect Seymour
Cray, SRC has developed the IMPLICIT+EXPLICIT Architecture that allows its
products to provide orders of magnitude increases in performance over
conventional microprocessor-based systems. In addition to its headquarters in
Colorado Springs, Colo., SRC also maintains a software development facility in
Minneapolis. IMPLICIT+EXPLICIT, Carte, and MAPstation are trademarks or
registered trademarks of SRC Computers, LLC. All other trademarks and registered
trademarks are the property of their respective owners. The SRC Web site address
is www.srccomputers.com.

SRC Computers, LLC
Media Contact
Valerie Jackson, 719-785-5119
Marketing Communications
vjackson@srccomputers.com
or
Technical Contact
Jon Huppenthal, 719-262-0213
President & CEO
hupp@srccomputers.com

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