IBM offers high performance computing for medical imaging

IBM has expanded its high performance computing (HPC) capabilities for businesses with the introduction of the IBM BladeCenter QS22 - a new, economical supercomputing technology.
 
The QS22 has a new processor, the IBM PowerXCell 8i, which is compliant with the Cell Broadband Engine (Cell/B.E.) Architecture and has up to 32 GB of memory, the company said.
 
A strong ecosystem around the new QS22 addresses critical real-time analytic and imaging projects, with more than 20 IBM business partners to enable key solutions for the Cell/B.E. technology and 35 universities to provide in-depth curriculum and resources, according to IBM.

For development, the QS22 has an open environment, utilizing the flexibility of Red Hat Enterprise Linux as the primary operating system and the open development environment of Eclipse. It also has the following built-in features for energy efficiency:
  • The IBM Power Configurator helps systems managers understand the overall power requirements for operation.
  • The IBM Systems Director Active Energy Manager helps monitor, control and virtualize the system’s power.
  • The IBM Rear Door Heat eXchanger reduces data center hot spots.
  • The IBM Data Center Energy Efficiency services optimize and future-proof a data center for maximum performance.
According to Jim Comfort, vice president, IBM Systems & Technology Group, the company has made available thousands of pages of technical documentation on the Cell/B.E. Architecture to the public, including a free, full-system simulator, and has released an upgrade to its Software Development Kit for Multicore Acceleration v3, providing enhancements and templates to enable clients to utilize the new features of QS22. 

“The QS22 is a technological leap over the physical limitations of traditional processors that often dampen the ability of organizations to reach their goals,” said Comfort. “IBM has delivered on the promise of integrating HPC into the business world in a way that allows developers, clients and IT departments to ramp up quickly and get results without delay.”

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