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Beowulf Computer Cluster to Boost Research at Embry-Riddle and Bethune-Cookman

Daytona Beach, Fla., Jan. 3, 2005 -- In March 2005, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will take delivery of a high-performance computer cluster dubbed Beowulf. The system was acquired through a $757,825 grant from the National Science Foundation to Embry-Riddle and Bethune-Cookman College.

Like the legendary sixth-century warrior it is named for, Beowulf can perform epic feats. Large research projects that require days of processing by one computer can be split into sections and completed simultaneously by Beowulf in a few hours. That is possible because, unlike the computer most people have at home, Beowulf consists of 262 computers stacked on shelves and hardwired together. A head node manages the system and its many worker nodes, and can run different operations at the same time.

The computer cluster has 131 dual-processor nodes and 262 processors, each of which is a 64-bit, 3.2 GHz Intel Xeon. Each node has a minimum of four gigabytes of RAM and the connection among them is facilitated using Myrinet. The cluster’s Red Hat Linux operating system allows many users to access the computing system and perform jobs simultaneously.

Although the cluster will be located on Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach campus, it will be shared via an Internet-2 link with Bethune-Cookman, Embry-Riddle’s Prescott, Ariz., campus, and its Extended Campus network of teaching centers in the United States and Europe.

Scientists, engineers, and students will use the state-of-the-art facility for research, research training, and activities that integrate research and education. Beowulf will also aid Embry-Riddle’s plans for a computational mathematics program that will combine computing and mathematics applications to solve science and engineering problems.

The new computing cluster is good news to researchers like Chris Herbster, associate professor of meteorology at Embry-Riddle. “To do a 24-hour forecast, our computer now takes six to eight hours to process the data from the National Weather Service,” he said. “With Beowulf, we can split the weather data in 10 parts, and the system will process the job in 30 minutes.” With that much time saved, he and his students can make more projections and analyze their accuracy as the weather continues to develop.

Principal investigator and manager of the Beowulf project is Michael Hickey, associate professor of physics, interim assistant dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and director of the Computational Atmospheric Dynamics Laboratory at Embry-Riddle. Others on the team are Magdy Attia, assistant professor of engineering, and Herbster at Embry-Riddle and Dennis Clayton, professor of mathematics and computer science at Bethune-Cookman.

Embry-Riddle, the world’s largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, offers more than 30 degree programs in its colleges of Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business, and Engineering and meets the needs of students and industry through its educational, training, research, and consulting activities. Embry-Riddle educates more than 30,000 students annually in undergraduate and graduate programs at residential campuses in Prescott, Ariz., and Daytona Beach, Fla., through the Extended Campus at more than 130 teaching centers in the United States and Europe, and worldwide through distance learning.