Microsoft and Bull Put High-Performance Computing within Reach
PARIS, November 9 -- Bull adopts Microsoft Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003.
Microsoft Corp and Bull SAS, one of Europe's largest information technology companies, today announced the availability of Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 on Bull NovaScale® R400 clusters, built from high-performance Intel Xeon processor-based servers. The announcement was made at Fluent Forum France, hosted by Fluent Inc, the premier conference in Paris for engineers and managers involved with computer-aided engineering. The partnership unites Microsoft's high-performance computing (HPC) platform with the proven capability of Bull in HPC clusters, creating an easy-to-use, scalable infrastructure, featuring the best price-to-performance ratio.
Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 is Microsoft's first software offering designed specifically to run parallel, HPC applications for customers solving complex computations. Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 accelerates customers' time-to-insight by providing a HPC platform that is simple to deploy, operate and integrate with existing infrastructure and tools. Computer clusters running mechanical computer-aided engineering (MCAE) codes have become an integral part of design and manufacturing facilities.
Leveraging its deep expertise in designing and delivering HPC clusters such as Europe's largest supercomputer at the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), Bull complements its traditional offering with Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 solutions to address the needs of industrial users who need fast and easy turnkey solutions for their MCAE applications.
The NovaScale R400 are rack-optimised servers in the Bull NovaScale Universal family of servers and clusters. They take full advantage of the new Intel Xeon dual core architecture, making them ideal for high-performance, heat-sensitive, space-constrained environments, helping enterprises' IT managers to increase power efficiency and lower energy costs. With frequency up to 3.0 GHz and 1333MHz Front Side Bus, they offer uncompromised performance to power-hungry MCAE users.
"Bull is one of the leading HPC vendors in Europe due in no small part to their excellent technology and development support," said Bjorn Tromsdorf, HPC product and solution manager at Microsoft Europe, Middle East and Africa.
"The combination of Microsoft and Bull allows HPC to be offered as a solution in markets where server clusters would previously have been too complex and expensive to manage and use."
"Microsoft Compute Cluster Server 2003 is an ideal platform for addressing the MCAE needs of leading manufacturers," said Jean-Francois Lavignon, director of the HPC Business Unit at Bull. "The cooperation of Microsoft and Bull with the forefront ISVs serving the MCAE sector ensures our customers that the reliability and productivity of their solutions will be unmatched."
"We are excited to see Bull and Microsoft working together to provide cluster solutions that will allow our customers to expand their simulation capability," said Ferit Boysan, vice president and general manager at ANSYS Inc. "Especially for our customers who are already using Microsoft Windows, the Bull platform combined with Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 provides a high-performance solution that leverages existing IT resources and expertise."
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realise their full potential.
About Microsoft EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa)
Microsoft has operated in EMEA since 1982. In the region Microsoft employs more than 12,000 people in over 55 subsidiaries, delivering products and services in more than 139 countries and territories.
About Bull
As one of the leading European IT companies, Bull delivers open, flexible and secure information systems. The group helps public and private sector customers transform their information systems, applying its know-how and expertise in three main areas:
Capitalizing on its extensive mainframe experience, Bull designs and produces robust, innovative and open servers, based on industry-standard technologies;
Building on its alliances with leading ISVs, Bull develops and implements flexible and interoperable application infrastructures which give business processes the freedom to evolve;
Bringing together recognized expertise in end-to-end IT security, Bull secures data and exchanges that are so critical in preserving customers'
business integrity.
Bull has a particularly strong presence in the public, healthcare, finance, telecommunications, manufacturing and defense sectors. Its distribution network and business partners cover more than 60 countries worldwide.
For more information visit: www.bull.com
About Fluent Forum France
The Fluent Forum France is hosted by Fluent Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of ANSYS, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANSS), a global innovator of simulation software and technologies designed to optimize product development processes.
ANSYS is one of more than 20 ISVs in the EMEA region who have developed applications that run on top of the Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 platform. The company's FLUENT computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software is a vital part of the computer-aided engineering process for companies around the world and is deployed in nearly every manufacturing industry.
Web site: www.bull.com
Web site: www.microsoft.com
Source: Microsoft Corp.
Daniela Trivelloni,
Microsoft EMEA Server and Tools PR Manager
+44-7812-338101
Microsoft EMEA Response Centre,
+44-870-243-0515
emearesponse@wagged.com
Anne-Marie Jourdain
Bull, +33-1-30-80-32-52
anne-marie.jourdain@bull.net
