July 2006

By DE Editors

Editor’s Pick of the Week—July 26, 2006Platform Introduces Grid PLM Enabler Distributes workload in effort to optimize multidisciplinary design loop.Platform Computing (Markham, ONT) has announced Platform LSF for V5PLM, a customized version of its Platform LSF for use with DassaultSystèmes’ (DS; Paris, France) V5 PLM (product lifecycle management)line of solutions. Platform LSF for V5 PLM provides the samecapabilities as Platform LSF and augments those capabilities withfunctionality that grid enables V5 batch operations. The companybelieves that Platform LSF for V5 PLM is the first product togrid-enable PLM. Platform LSF for V5 PLM is said to optimize resourcesand address computing infrastructure challenges for enterprises in suchfields as aerospace, biotech, and automotive.Platform LSF for V5 PLM enables DS’s batch infrastructure to delegatejob submissions to the Platform LSF family of grid-enabled solutions. Itallows V5 users to load balance compute resources within a computegrid, schedule batch processes based on user priorities, and monitorprocesses. It will even perform job interventions, if need be.Based on DS’s CAA V5 (Component Application Architecture Version 5),Platform LSF for V5 PLM schedules and distributes operations throughouta grid-enabled enterprise from within the CATIA V5 environment.Currently, it grid-enables 11 V5 batch operations ranging from CAE todigital mock-ups and from clash detections to data conversions.Features include the ability to execute V5 batch operations on serversor desktops and automatic job tracking and updates.Platform LSF for V5 PLM runs on Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4,Windows XP Professional (x86 and x64) with Service Pack 1 or 2, or IBMAIX 5.3 ML3 (64 bit). It requires CATIA V5 R16 SP4 or later. Click hereto download the Platform LSF for V5 PLM datasheet.For more information onPlatform LSF for V5 PLM, click here to go to its Web page.

Editor’s Pick of the Week—July 19, 2006SGI Unveils an Array of SolutionsFactory-optimized cluster solutions target application efficiency. Impressive benchamrks announced.Silicon Graphics(SGI; Mountain View, CA) recently unveiled a new lineof cluster solutions based on the dual-core Intel Xeon processor 5100series—the Woodcrest processor announced by Intel in late June. In asimultaneous announcements, the company also introduced the newSGI Altix 450 mid-range blade server and revealed that both it as wellas the company’s 4700 server will be equipped with Intel’s newgeneration of dual-core Itanium 2 processors formerly code-namedMontecito.Yesterday, July 18, SGI released performance benchmarks backingup its claim that the new dual-core Altix 4700 and Altix 450 serversdeliver double the performance of today’s generation of Altix systems.For good measure, the benchmarks are said to indicate that the SGIsystems outperform certain competitors’ units.SGI’s new family of 64-bit Linux-based servers and factory-integratedclusters, the SGI Altix XE are custom-configured around its pair ofdual-core Xeon 5150 processors to optimize leading applications. Whatthis means is that the SGI Altix XE servers allow organizations toorganize themselves for hybrid workloads that combine brute-forcesystem horsepower with the efficiency achieved through customization todrive their mission-critical applications.The Altix XE can accommodate up to four processor cores and support upto 32GB of memory. Its energy-efficient design requires just 65 or 80watts per socket, which has an added benefit of reducing powermanagement and cooling concerns for IT. SGI says that the Altix XE’smodular systems management design helps meet RAS (reliability,availability and serviceability) requirements. Memory bandwidth is listreported to be 21GB/sec.SGI plans call for the Altix XE systems to support both Novell SUSEEnterprise Linux Ver. 9 and 10 (when available) and Red Hat) EnterpriseLinux 4 (planned for this month), along with SGI ProPack for Linux 5acceleration software. The new server is available in two formfactors: a 1U chassis suitable for dense cluster configurations and a2U chassis that provides plentiful amounts of I/O to serve as a clusterhead node.SGI Altix XE cluster solutions can be ordered today. Baseconfiguration pricing starts at less than $3,100. For further details,click here. The Altix 450 is a mid-rangeblade server that offers up to 2.5 times the system performance of thecurrent Altix 350 server at a lower cost. Using dual-core Intel Itanium2 processors, the Altix 450 is said to provide greater Linux serverdensity to maximize floor space while reducing heat dissipation andusing up to 20 percent less power than their single-core predecessors. The Altix 450 is made up of modular blades—interchangeable compute,memory, and I/O blades for plug-and-solve configuration flexibility.Each Altix 450 system can scale to 38 Intel Itanium 2 sockets (up to 76processor cores) and up to 456GB of globally addressable memory. TheAltix 450 is expected to be available shortly. Pricing begins at lessthan $15,000. For more information, click here.SGI describes the dual-core Altix 4700 system as suitable for HPC environments withdemanding data-intensive workloads. It scales from 8 to 512 CPU sockets(up to 1,024 processor cores) and can accommodate up to 6TB of sharedmemory in a single system while delivering a teraflop of performance ina small-footprint rack.Altix 4700 system configurations start at less than $75,000 areexpected to be available in late August. For more information on theAltix 4700, clickhere.Turning to the benchmark tests, SGI says that in tests ofMSC.Software’s MD Nastran computational structural mechanicsapplication, a dual-core Altix 4700 on two 1.6GHz dual-core IntelItanium 2 processor 9000 series was 2.6 times faster than a competitorsdual-core server leveraging a pair of dual-core 2.6GHz Opteronprocessors. At press time, data confirming these results were not yetposted.The company also claimed exceptional performance in benchmarking forearth and life sciences, government and defense, and data managementapplications. Click here for the SGI press statement. Links at the endof the announcement can lead you to the benchmark tests and data.

 Editor’s Pick of the Week—July 12, 2006 DWF Composer Renamed, New Tools AddedAutodesk Design Review focuses on new tools for collaboration.Autodesk, Inc. (San Rafael, CA) has renamed its Autodesk DWF Composersoftware Autodesk Design Review 2007 and announced that this latestupgrade is shipping. At the same time, the companyannounced Design Review 2007, it also announced new versions of itsfree DWF Viewer and DWF Writer applications.Key enhancements in Designer Review 2007 are its focus on facilitatingcollaboration between extended product development teams, 2D and 3Dreview, and hundreds of new features and capabilities, says thecompany. Autodesk Design Review 2007 integrates with allAutodesk design products, and now especially Inventor through what iscalled Autodesk Inventor 11 DWF Extension, a new release for AutodeskInventor software subscription customers. New features in Autodesk Design Review 2007 include BOM viewing,support for assembly instructions, animations, 2D/3D associations,pull-apart, sectioning, exploded views, design analysis, AutodeskInventor representations, and custom views. Other new features includedirect import of DWG and DXF files, the ability to combine 2D and 3Ddocuments in a single file, batch printing, save views, rotation ofmarkups and custom symbols. Autodesk says Design Review 2007’s tight integration and functionalitywith Autodesk Inventor provides a bidirectional solution. As an exampleof this, Autodesk says that you can now publish Inventor files withassociated metadata, BOM (bill of materials), and 3D animations thatdemonstrate assembly and disassembly instructions inside a compact andsecure file.The unveiling of Autodesk Design Review 2007 also marks theavailability of the newest update of the company’s free Autodesk DWFViewer and Autodesk DWF Writer software. The latter has been enhancedwith more options to freely publish 2D and 3D design data to DWF files.DWF Writer supports publishing 2D files and 3D models that retainembedded intelligent design information, including specialized plug-insfor SolidWorks, Pro/Engineer Wildfire, and CATIA.Autodesk Design Review 2007 costs $199. For a full list of newfeatures, click here. To register for a 30-day trial version ofAutodesk Design Review, click here.Autodesk Inventor 11 DWF Extension is available to Autodesk Inventor subscription customers from their subscription center. Click here to register for your free download of DWF Viewer and here for DWF Writer.

 Editor’s Pick of the Week—July 6, 2006 Raster to Vector ToolMagicTracer is low-cost, yet has both vector and raster tools.Elgorithms (Pryor, OK) says that its Windows-based MagicTracer isdifferent from other raster to vector systems because it provides youwith both raster and vector tools. Additionally, the company assertsthat MagicTracer’s “unique” overlay feature increases “the ease ofediting in both raster and vector modes. Perhaps another differencethat the company should note is its price: $49.95 for a permanentlicense. MagicTracer features a two-step vector conversion process (apply EdgeFilter and Threshold then apply the vector conversion), and itsreal-time preview lets you adjust settings before executing the trace.Vector output export options include as DXF, WMF, DC2, and XYZ formats.It supports most image formats, including BMP, GIF, JPG, TIF, TGA, andPCX, and it works with most any Twain32-compliant scanners. Miscellaneous features include Set Drawing Units command, support ofBezier curves when saving DXF files, and the ability to save arcs andcircles in WMF files. MagicTracer contains an assortment of raster and vector editing toolsas well as more than 100 customizable functions. Raster tools includefreehand, polygon, box, circle, and magic wand; pseudo colors; changecolor depth (1, 4, 8, 24 bits); and box, line, ellipse, and sketchdrawing tools.  Vector editing tools include box, line, ellipse,arc, curve, and sketch drawing tools; and lines to hatch, curve to lineand back again. A complement of raster processing, vector conversion,and DXF “save as” options are provided. MagicTracer comes with step-by-step tutorials and documentation. Clickhere to view video demonstrations of the program’s vector conversionprocess. A fully functional trial version is available for download byclicking here. Click here to go to the company’s website for furtherdetails.