HPC Systems, Inc. Announces First 8-Way Processor AMD Opteron™ ServerWritten by Andrew Oh
San Jose, CA November 16, 2004 –- HPC Systems, Inc. announces availability of A5220HS Server, industry’s first 8 Processor AMD Opteron™ based Server utilizing HTX-PRO™ technology by Iwill USA Corporation. This technology allows AMD64 Direct Connect Architecture to achieve its full potential, providing infinite possibilities in customization and unparalleled bandwidth access in I/O intensive applications. The A5220HS leverages AMD64 Direct Connect Architecture already standard on all AMD Opteron™ systems through Iwill's HTX-Pro™ HyperTransport interconnect. HTX-Pro uses same HyperTransport technology bus that connects memory, I/O and processors to also connect expansion I/O devices directly to AMD Opteron™ processor at 6.4GB/s (or higher if available) of total bandwidth per HyperTransport technology link. HTX-Pro™ allows for a modular system design, freeing motherboard from handling expansion buses and devices such as PCI, PCI-X and InfiniBand by concentrating those functions into separate system boards connected by HTX-Pro, allowing I/O portion of system to be upgraded without replacing entire platform. A user may start using platform based around PCI-X add-in devices and upgrade to PCI-Express at a later date by simply changing out modular I/O board. “The A5220HS brings a highly scalable, high performance integrated, 64-bit computing solution to enterprise market. The lower price and superior scalability and performance of AMD Opteron™ processor, relative to other available 64 bit architectures, allow systems like A5220HS to bring a level of performance previously too expensive for many to consider,” said Jim Bowen, HPC Systems’ Director of Systems Engineering. “Whether handling corporate databases or performing complex scientific computations, A5520HS is a workhorse for enterprise.”
| | A Time-Saving Programming Tactic That Doesn't WorkWritten by V. Berba Velasco Jr., Ph.D.
Let’s say that you have a software project that’s under severe time pressure. Let’s say that this deadline is so tight that you already know it will involve many late nights of black coffee and frenetic programming. What can you do to make this process go faster? I honestly don’t know, since correct answer will depend on one’s individual circumstances. However, I can tell you how many programmers do respond under such circumstances. They decide to save time by skipping over software planning and design phase, and immediately start coding away. To an inexperienced or otherwise undisciplined programmer, this seems to make sense. After all, finished product is what truly matters, right? The customer doesn’t care about flowcharts, class diagrams or software architectures. All they want is something that works. It seems to make sense, but it’s a foolhardy approach. That way lies madness. We’ve all heard that an ounce of planning is worth a pound of cure, but in world of software development, this adage is often forgotten. If a real estate developer needs to get a house built quickly, does he save time by skipping over architectural design phase? Does he decide to dispense with blueprints, and just start laying down concrete? Of course not. He knows that results would be chaotic, and that work will progress more slowly without careful forethought and a concrete plan. Yet that’s approach that many people take when it comes to software. They decide to just start coding away, thinking that this makes software development process more efficient. On fairly simple projects, this might work. On anything of moderate complexity though, such an approach is doomed to fail. Sure, you may save time at first. However, without a concrete software plan and a carefully considered design, problems are bound to catch up with you before long. Many of these problems won’t become clear until testing phase comes around, and by then, it may be too late.
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