Madison Research Powers U.S. Army Space and Missile Command Simulation Center With SGI Altix Supercomputer

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Oct. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SGI (NYSE: SGI) today announced that Madison Research Corporation (MRC) installed a 128- processor SGI(R) Altix(R) 3700 Bx2 supercomputer at the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC)/US Army Forces Strategic Command (ARSTRAT) Simulation Center which supports research and development of defensive missile systems. Shipped in June, the new Altix system will support research conducted at the Simulation Center that will ultimately help to defend the United States, its deployed military forces, and allies from long-range missile attacks. MRC is the prime contractor that operates the Simulation Center on behalf of SMDC/ARSTRAT.

"The SGI Altix 3700 Bx2 supercomputer is the latest addition to the Center's high performance computing resources and represents a significant technology update supporting our community of HPC users," said Larry Burger, director for SMDC's Future Warfare Center. "One capability pertinent to our M&S and RDT&E users of the Altix 3700 is its global shared-memory system architecture, which allows fast access to all data in the system's memory directly and efficiently, without having to move data through I/O or networking bottlenecks." Applications that run on the Altix are simulations, computational fluid dynamics, computational chemistry, and data and systems analysis.

Scaling to 512 Intel(R) Itanium(R) 2 processors and up to 6 Terabytes of global shared memory in a single platform, the Altix 3700 Bx2 is SGI's newest and most powerful Linux(R) solution for high performance computing. Altix 3700 Bx2 leverages the powerful SGI(R) NUMAflex(TM) global shared-memory architecture to derive maximum application performance from new high-density CPU bricks. The latest configuration also doubles available bandwidth between Altix bricks with SGI's NUMAlink(TM) 4 interconnect technology-the industry's fastest at 6.4GB/sec and less than 1 microsecond MPI latency.

On top of the inherent reliability features that are built into the Intel Itanium 2 processors, SGI builds reliability into each of the modules in the Altix 3700 Bx2 system. Power supplies and cooling fans are N+1 redundant and can be replaced without system downtime in the event of failure. The SGI Altix 3700 diagnostic controller subsystem reports intermittent errors and recommends preemptive remedial action to on-site or remote service personnel.

The SGI Altix 3700 Bx2 supercomputer was purchased in June with funding from the U.S. Department of Defense's High Performance Computing Modernization Program and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency. About SMDC/ARSTRAT

As an Army major command (MACOM) and the Army Service Component to USSTRATCOM, SMDC/ARSTRAT conducts space operations and provides planning, integration, control and coordination of Army forces and capabilities in support of USSTRATCOM missions; serves as proponent for space and ground-based midcourse defense and as Army operational integrator for global missile defense; conducts mission related research, development, and acquisition in support of Army Title 10 responsibilities and serves as the focal point for desired characteristics and capabilities in support of USSTRATCOM missions. (http://www.smdc.army.mil) About Madison Research Corporation

MRC is a full-service engineering services and information technology company founded in 1986. John L. Stallworth, President and CEO, directs MRC's operations from the corporate headquarters in Huntsville, AL. With a staff of over 650 people, MRC is located in Huntsville, at five satellite offices throughout the South, and on-site at 29 Government facilities nation-wide. MRC applies its core competencies of systems acquisition, system sustainment, software engineering, and information technology to meet the diverse needs of a growing customer base of Government agencies (DoD, NASA, DOE, the CDC, States of Alabama and Tennessee, EPA, and the US Department of Health and Human Services) and leading commercial companies. For more information, visit the MRC web site at http://www.madisonresearch.com. SILICON GRAPHICS | The Source of Innovation and Discovery(TM)

SGI, also known as Silicon Graphics, Inc., is a leader in high-performance computing, visualization and storage. SGI's vision is to provide technology that enables the most significant scientific and creative breakthroughs of the 21st century. Whether it is sharing images to aid in brain surgery, finding oil more efficiently, studying global climate, providing technologies for homeland security and defense or enabling the transition from analog to digital broadcasting, SGI is dedicated to addressing the next class of challenges for scientific, engineering, and creative users. With offices worldwide, the company is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., and can be found on the Web at http://www.sgi.com. NOTE: Silicon Graphics, SGI, Altix, the SGI cube and the SGI logo are registered trademarks and NUMAflex, Numalink, and The Source of Innovation and Discovery are trademarks of Silicon Graphics, Inc., in the United States and/or other countries worldwide. Intel and Itanium are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in several countries. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners. MEDIA CONTACT

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