To obtain accurate assessments of predicted target damage, the NSWC required a high performance server that would allow them to conduct large three dimensional computations for faster 3D analysis of explosive systems. The group found such a system in the SGI Altix 4700.

Installed in June, the new Altix system, with its enhanced memory capacity and parallel processing capabilities, was selected after demonstrating its capability to handle the data intensive application's demanding computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and finite element requirements. Running on industry standard SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 fro Novell, the new system also features 28TB of RAID storage in two SGI InfiniteStorage 220 direct attached systems for data consolidation.

"The new server plays a critical role in extending our capabilities in analysing explosive systems", stated Kevin Gessner, Head of the Component Technology Division, Explosive Effects Branch at NSWC-Indian Head. "The addition of the Altix 4700 provides the parallel processing capability and shared memory we need to simulate the conditions that ultimately will help us design and develop increasingly efficient, effective underwater weapon technology."

The new system is the latest addition to SGI technology purchased by the Explosive Effects Branch to advance its study of underwater explosions. Earlier, the group had purchased an SGI Altix server and SGI InfiniteStorage solutions to simulate target response to underwater explosions.

The NSWC-Indian Head, which serves as the principal source of expertise for the U.S. Navy in the area of underwater explosion phenomenology and its application to target damage, purchased the Altix 4700 in April to further its warhead impact studies.

"As the leading scientific research lab supporting the Navy's underwater warhead analysis, the Explosive Effects Branch at NSWC-Indian Head required a powerful, scalable server and storage solution to model underwater explosions using a variety of hydrocodes", stated Dave Parry, senior vice president and product general manager for SGI. "We are pleased that NSWC-Indian Head selected the shared memory architecture of the Altix 4700 coupled with SGI InfiniteStorage 220 to provide this solution. Together, they form an ideal combination capable of modelling the entire set of underwater explosion phenomena including detonation, shock physics, and bubble dynamics among others; while managing the large amounts of data these simulations generate."

The newly installed Altix 4700 features shared-memory architecture, which simplifies workload management and delivers optimal memory for individual jobs on a single system. The dual core system supports up to 512 processors, providing 512 GB of RAM and 1TB of system disk capacity.