ScaleMP, a leading provider of virtualization solutions for high-end computing, today announced the newest version of its server virtualization for aggregation software platform, vSMP Foundation 4.0. The new release adds more than 10 major features, providing customers more choice when designing their virtual SMP solutions. In addition, vSMP Foundation 4.0 includes significant performance enhancements to the already groundbreaking performance of vSMP Foundation.

“CPU speeds have advanced much more quickly than other server components. As a result, HPC systems today tend to be unbalanced – with very fast CPUs, but not enough memory to feed them efficiently,” said Dan Olds, principal analyst at Gabriel Consulting Group. “Customers end up having to purchase more systems to get the performance they need for memory-hungry applications, leading to higher costs and more management complexity. vSMP Foundation 4.0 gives customers the ability to truly optimize their systems to fit these applications – reducing costs and easing management at the same time.”

• Support for AMD processors - supporting the latest AMD processors, Magny Cours and Interlagos, vSMP Foundation 4.0 offers an increased set of server options to build virtual SMPs with both AMD dual-socket and quad-socket system support. In addition, the new release includes platform certification for Super Micro 2022G-URF, 1042G-TF, 2042G-TRF, 2022G-URF, 2122TG-HIBQRF.

• Extended support for Intel processers - including the upcoming Intel Sandy-Bridge processors. This new release includes platform certification for systems using this processor, such as Fujitsu RX300S7 and APPRO blades. In addition, vSMP Foundation 4.0 supports 8-socket systems based on the Intel Xeon Westmere-EP processor – specifically, this new release includes platform certification for HP ProLiant DL980 systems.

• VM on VM (nested VM) support – virtual machine-on-virtual machine (VM on VM) technology, which consolidates multiple servers running KVM and Xen virtualization software on a virtual system, allowing the virtualization software to use the aggregated virtual server resources. This technology delivers increased system utilization, better application performance and more IT infrastructure flexibility.

• Parallel storage I/O – resulting from collaboration with San Diego Supercomputer Center for its Gordon supercomputer, vSMP Foundation now provides up to 300 percent faster performance for scratch storage – making it 20 percent faster compared to the fastest PCIe-SSD solution for about 55 percent of its price.

• Enhance MPI offload engine – with the growing number of MPI users needing vSMP Foundation for cluster simplification, the new release focuses on small messages in MPI communication, and increases its performance by up to 300 percent as measured by SPEC MPIM2007 components. The average improvement across all components is reaching 70 percent.

• InfiniBand-FDR support – as part of its commitment to cutting edge performance, vSMP Foundation now supports Mellanox ConnectX-3 HCAs providing 56Gbps per link, delivering 2X higher bandwidth compared to previous generations.

"ScaleMP's approach to server aggregation offers remarkable advantages for I/O intensive applications," said Allan Snavely, associate director of the San Diego Supercomputer Center. "We look forward to continuing to work with them as Gordon is completed and begins processing production workloads."

“Our main focus is supporting the most cutting-edge technologies available so that our customers can optimize their resource utilization and achieve the highest virtual SMP performance possible,” said Shai Fultheim, founder and CEO of ScaleMP. “vSMP Foundation 4.0 is the most feature-rich software we’ve released so far, allowing our customers -- whether they have very large workloads, run high performance clusters or entry-level SMPs -- the flexibility and choice to create exact systems that fit their needs.”

Additionally, vSMP Foundation 4.0 enhances its support for I/O devices. This new release supports Intel 82599-based (Niantic) 10GigE NICs, LSI’s SAS2 storage controllers as well as USB 2.0 devices. This capability increases customers’ options when it gets to selecting their platform of choice.

Pricing & Availability

vSMP Foundation 4.0 is offered under the new ScaleMP licensing model, so prices start as low as $400 per socket. The per-socket pricing model allows for greater simplicity when it comes to selecting platforms for vSMP Foundation and provides customer peace of mind, focusing on the virtual SMP size and capabilities, rather than on the nodes size and model. Additionally, vSMP Foundation is now available with floating licenses, allowing customers to reuse the same license for future hardware generations. Floating licenses provide the best ROI when it comes to vSMP Foundation licenses.

General availability of vSMP Foundation 4.0 is expected on November 21, 2011. For more information about vSMP Foundation, please visit http://www.ScaleMP.com/products.