| Re: Choice of 64-bit platform for IDL [message #39465] |
Mon, 24 May 2004 17:45 |
Rick Towler
Messages: 821
Registered: August 1998
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Senior Member |
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"Wolf Schweitzer" wrote ...
> We are evaluating the purchase of a 64-bit platform for IDL.
> What we want to do is analyze, work with, and visualise, 3D-volume data
> that ranges around 900 MB to 2.5 GB.
> There's no 64-bit-Linux support because those developments are probably
> too recent, there's no 64-bit Windows so far, so we're left with a
> choice of Unix platforms.
> Which are your recommendations?
> - Solaris: Are Sun Blade workstations a good choice? Is Solaris very
> common among IDL users?
I agree with Michael that Solaris is a fairly safe bet as far as RSI is
concerned but I don't think now is the time to invest in Sun kit. While Sun
delivers some decent hardware the ultraSparc processors are pitiful
performers. Since you will be doing a lot of volume rendering processor
performance will be critical.
Fujitsu's Sparc64 V is a different story but I don't know if it is binary
compatible with uSparc.
> - HP/UX: What about the Itanium support? Itanium 2, maybe? No news by
> RSI yet, right?
With Intel's announcement of x86 64bit extensions and the "realignment" of
its future strategy the Itanium's future is not as clear cut as it one was.
FUD abounds. I would guess that RSI will be slow to move on this.
It would be nice if RSI would hint at their 64bit strategy, specifically on
PPC 970 and X86-64 (both AMD and Intel flavors). I am unaware of the level
of support OS X currently provides but linux distros are starting to offer
64bit support for Opteron/Athlon 64 and many institutions are in the
evaluation phase (or further) with this technology. Knowing where RSI is
heading would be very helpful.
-Rick
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| Re: Choice of 64-bit platform for IDL [message #39482 is a reply to message #39465] |
Mon, 24 May 2004 07:34  |
Michael Wallace
Messages: 409
Registered: December 2003
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Senior Member |
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Of the UNIX choices you listed, my preference is Solaris. The only
reason for that choice is that it seems to be the only one on the list
where there isn't some question about future RSI support. Here, we use
Linux and Solaris for the majority of intensive IDL computing and
analysis. We used to have some AIX and HP/UX machines around, but those
have been turned into boat anchors -- especially the old HP monitors,
those things were heavy! But, I digress. My personal choice would be
Linux, if the 64-bit solution existed. However, we do have IDL 6
running fine on a couple Solaris 9 servers.
I know that 64-bit computing is the future, but why have you decided to
go after a 64-bit architecture? There are plenty of other factors to
consider for a big, beefy machine -- RAM, processor(s) speed, cache
speed, etc. If you wanted to maximize $$/flops (that's dollars per
floating point operations per second) you might want to look at some of
the cheaper 32-bit architectures and use the extra money to buy more RAM
or processors. Just an idea I thought I'd throw out.
-Mike
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