Company Makes Supercomputing Faster and Cheaper Than Ever Before
LOUISVILLE, Colo., Jan. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Massively Parallel Technologies
(MPT), a provider of on-demand high-performance computing, announced the
company has developed the first mathematical derivation of Amdahl's Law. The
derivation leads to a new level of understanding of the fundamentals
underlying parallel processing, which has allowed MPT to establish a new
standard for speeding up high performance computing. Amdahl's Law, though
never before proven through a mathematical derivation from first principles,
helped establish the supercomputing industry and has for more than 30 years
been a force in the industry.
Gene Amdahl, a recognized authority on parallel processing, crafted
"Amdahl's Law" in 1967, which states that there are communication issues that
eventually place an upper limit on the maximum speed of parallel processing
systems, therefore mitigating much of the benefit of parallelization.
Amdahl's Law has until now limited parallel processing's appeal as a
commercially viable solution.
For 35 plus years, traditional non-mathematic interpretations of Amdahl's
Law have led developers of supercomputers to believe that only 20 percent or
less efficiency was possible through parallel processing, with larger machines
achieving only 7 percent to 10 percent efficiency. The limitations implied by
this interpretation led developers to concentrate on building expensive
systems that relied on the fastest components available.
The Massively Parallel approach, now confirmed by Amdahl's Law as the most
efficient method of parallel processing, concentrates on improving the
efficiency of the communication methodology between processors. This has
resulted in systems that exceed 90 percent efficiency rather than the
previously believed limit of 20 percent. The breakthrough also allows systems
to be built with low cost commodity hardware to solve problems in minutes
rather than hours.
Advances in computing speed and efficiency have to date conformed to
Moore's Law which states that computing power will double every 18 months.
The MPT breakthrough allows for an improvement on the order of
one thousand times what is currently available today, promising to
dramatically extend the upper limit of the world's fastest supercomputers.
Impressed with MPT's achievements, Dr. Amdahl now sits on the company's
board of advisors. "It is a great pleasure for me to see the fruits of my
work being realized so dramatically by MPT," said Amdahl. "MPT's technology
will allow supercomputing power to be used by anyone, anywhere and I have no
doubt it will result in dramatic achievement and scientific advancements. The
sky's the limit."
Massively Parallel Technologies co-founder and chief technology officer
Kevin Howard surprised Dr. Amdahl with the first mathematical derivation of
Amdahl's Law at a recent gathering at the company's headquarters in
Louisville, Colorado.
"Amdahl's Law, and Dr. Amdahl himself, were already legends," stated
Howard. "Our mathematical derivation of Amdahl's Law cements his place in
history. Dr. Amdahl's foresight is simply astonishing."
About Massively Parallel Technologies, Inc.
Massively Parallel Technologies (MPT), a Colorado-based company, delivers
high-performance computing through Virtual Power Centers(TM), Internet-based
hubs designed for specific computationally intense applications. Powered by
HOWARD(TM), MPT's revolutionary system design and software solution provides
the fastest possible communication between multiple processors. MPT's Virtual
Power Centers can outperform most mainframes and supercomputers for a fraction
of the cost. For additional information on Massively Parallel Technologies'
products and services, call (303) 926-8555 or visit its Web site at
http://www.massivelyparallel.com.
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