Posted on 04/13/2006 9:04:23 AM PDT by ShadowAce
Microsoft is preparing to take on Linux in a battle over price and performance, according to John Borozan, product manager for the forthcoming Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 (WCCS) software.
WCCS is a new version of Windows designed for high-performance computing (HPC) applications, such as those used for geological exploration, but it will also have a valuable role to play working with Excel spreadsheets.
WCCS will go on sale in the summer. Borozan said the price has not yet been set but will be very competitive against Linux rivals. Borozan added that 80 percent of existing HPC systems use x86 chips and run Linux software.
"HPC workloads are growing faster than any other x86 workload," said Borozan. "In 2004 HPC jumped 70 percent. In 2000 almost all HPC was on Risc systems, now almost all of it is on x86. Ten percent of x86 servers go into HPC systems." He added that the 64bit feature in AMD's Opteron and Xeon EM64T chips give HPC on x86 systems another boost. "In this market 64bit is pretty much a requirement," he said.
Borozan argued that WCCS would also appeal to companies working with Excel spreadsheets, which could run on WCCS thanks to integration between WCCS and Excel Services in the forthcoming Office 12. Companies could store complex spreadsheets on a WCCS system and users could work with the spreadsheets via a web interface. This would give the spreadsheet the processing power of the cluster, and enable firms to prevent spreadsheets from being removed from the server.
WCCS is based on the same kernel as Windows Server 2003 x64. It has been locked down so that it can only be used for HPC applications because it will be sold at a lower price, Borozan said.
Microsoft has also developed its own job scheduler and message-passing interface (MPI) layer, built using de facto standard open-source code. "By using this layer we made it easy for independent software vendors to port their products to WCCS," Borozan said. WCCS is expected to be launched in June.
To be rapidly followed by the WCFS (Windows Compute FusterCluck Server)
Huge Excel spreadsheets? Uh, isn't that what databases are for?
Yup. So why do we need clusters for Excel spreadsheets?
I just read more on this. For one, it doesn't do head node failover as Linux can. And it can't enlist the idle-time help of all of your desktop computers like Apple's XGrid can, nor can it enlist Internet help like XGrid can (think SETI@Home).
Microsoft has a long way to go before this can challenge the established players on merits.
Is it GPL'd? If so, they are supposed to release their changes. Whoever owns the copyright on this software should check if M$ is complying with their Terms of Use.
It's most likely a BSD license so they won't have to release any changes.
There is no denying this, but that has allowed potential US adversaries to quickly build up supercomputer capability when they used to have to dream of getting those systems illegally.
But, since some in the US known as the open source crowd are obviously willing to literally GIVE this type of software away to our potential enemies for free. Thankfully at least some others in the US are at least trying to make a dollar on it.
I don't want any technology of this caliber leaving the country, but if it does, giving it away for free seems the most absurd. This is the exact type of technology we should be keeping from Iran. Hopefully Microsoft will encrypt their technology, and deliver the best product on the market.
Ah, so you prefer whores to sluts, do ya?
Hopefully Microsoft will ... deliver the best product on the market.
Well, MS certainly has a history of doing just that (on a first release yet), eh?
Plus you have to factor in the overall cost if you have, for example, five computers. Normally a Linux distro is licensed to the END USER, not the computer, while a Windows license is for ONE COMPUTER. I run Xandros 3.0 Deluxe on my laptop and desktop...the Xandros license allows me to install my copy of Xandros 3.0 Deluxe on as many computers that I want to. If I wanted to install Windows XP on five computers, technically and legally I would have to buy five separate Windows XP licenses. Having Xandros 3.0 Deluxe on five computers would cost you just $90 (Xandros 3.0 Deluxe retails for $89.99), while having Windows XP on the same five computers would cost about $1,000. And then if you wanted an office suite on five computers, OpenOffice.org would be free, Sun StarOffice costs about $70 but the license is to the user, not the computer, while Microsoft Office on the same five computers would run about $2,500 (Office retails brand new for either $400 or $500).
I know, it's horrible, China's fastest supercomputer is at #26 on the Top 500 and it's running that commie free op ... oh, wait, they're running AIX on IBM hardware. Oops, nevermind.
Doesn't matter to you anyway, you'd obviously sell out your country for money.
Crude, but the most succinct way I have ever seen that point made..
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