Dell, Topspin tout InfiniBand clusters

Dell announced Monday several new configurations of high-performance computing clusters that use InfiniBand networking technology from start-up Topspin Communications. Dell is selling its PowerEdge 1850 servers, each with dual Intel Xeon processors, in groups of eight, 16, 32, 64 and 128 that are connected by TopSpin's switches.

The clusters, using Topspin's new 96-port TS270 switch and other networking equipment, will be available by Oct. 31, Dell said. An eight-server cluster has a starting price of $55,000. The 1850 servers use Intel's first x86 chip to include 64-bit extensions for more memory capacity.