HONG KONG, Dec 22, 2010 /PRNewswire-Asia/ --
The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) has successfully installed a Dell-powered High-Performance Computing Cluster (HPCC) at its headquarters data center facility. The new HPCC system will replace an older system and enhance the Observatory's weather forecasting systems for temperature, humidity, wind, rainfall and sea level pressure. Forecast products are already available on the enhanced Computer Forecast Weather Map in the HKO website, updating of which increased from twice per day to four times per day.
Resolutions of weather models have been enhanced from 20-kilometre to 2-kilometre, providing more detailed weather information for specific locations in Hong Kong. The Observatory's Wind Forecast for Water Sport Activities webpage has also been enhanced through these models. Forecast period is lengthened from one-day to three-day, allowing sports enthusiasts to plan further ahead for their wind-sensitive water activities.
The Dell solutions and services consulting teams provided an end-to-end solution, from the initial consultation and planning stage to implementation and performance optimization. Working closely with industry-leaders including Intel, Red Hat, QLogic, Platform Computing, Emerson and Symantec and Dell's global network of HPCC experts, HKO's system was brought into operation within nine months.
The HPCC is powered by Dell PowerEdge Servers that are equipped with Intel Nehalem processors, providing a total of 7.7 Teraflops of computational power with no single point of failure. Specialized high-speed interconnect includes QLogic Infiniband and Dell PowerConnect switches, which will help maximize the cluster's interconnect performance while simplifying and reducing data center costs. Other components in the HPCC include the Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating platform, Platform LSF Workload Management, Intel Cluster toolkits and Dell/EMC CX4-240 FC storage area networks.
"The HPCC installation at the HKO is yet another demonstration of Dell's capability in delivering open, reliable and affordable enterprise-class solutions that simply make sense. This is Dell's third large-scale HPCC in Hong Kong within two years, which demonstrates our expertise in delivering cutting-edge high-performance computing solutions with the most cost-effective benefits. Hong Kong citizens can now get weather predictions at higher frequencies and access location-specific weather information from the Observatory," said Alex Yung, Vice President of Dell China and General Manager of Large Enterprise, Dell mainland China and Hong Kong.
"The mission of the Hong Kong Observatory is to deliver timely and useful metrological information to the Hong Kong public and upgrading the weather prediction system was critical for us. The Dell teams demonstrated in-depth HPCC knowledge and experience, provided an effective solution using x86 platform. All of these factors contributed to the success of the implementation. The Hong Kong public can now obtain more detailed forecasts for specific locations in Hong Kong and more frequent weather predictions to help them better plan for their travels and outdoor activities," said Ng Ping-wing, Senior Scientific Officer.
Dell has always been at the forefront of high-performance computing and is committed in designing open, capable and affordable solutions that give customers the most flexibility, the highest value and least complexity. Dell demonstrates HPCC solution design and delivery capability across different industries, including oil & gas, renewable energy, aerospace, hospitals, academic institutions, finance and manufacturing. Globally, Dell's HPCC solutions have received recognition from key industry organizations including the Top500, Life Science Industry Awards and HPCWire. For more information about Dell's HPCC solutions, visit www.dell.com/hpcc.
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