Microsoft Windows is emerging as an acceptable operating system for high-performance computing (HPC) clusters in place of Linux, lowering the bar for entry into that space, according to some analysts and major vendors.
In 2006, Microsoft announced the release of Windows Compute Cluster Server (CCS) 2003, marking the company's first attempt at an operating system for HPC applications. Industry observers say that Windows CCS has been well accepted, particularly for small computing clusters.
Vendors have jumped on the Windows CCS bandwagon, including HP, which recently extended a multimillion-dollar investment agreement with Microsoft to drive high-performance computing into the mass market and is selling CCS 2003 as part of its HP Unified Cluster Portfolio, and Fujitsu Computer Products of America Inc., which recently published a best-practices paper for HPC cluster deployment using Microsoft Windows instead of Linux.
|