DAYSTAR INTROS ANOTHER MAC FIRST!
MEDIA PROCESSING NETWORKED CLUSTERS
Using DayStar nPOWER Technology
Demonstrates nPOWER on 12,000 MHz Genesis MP system cluster
Macworld San Francisco, Booth 2407 – January 7, 1997 — Today, DayStar
Digital, Inc., unveiled the next step for nPOWER the technology that has
brought new levels of processing capability to media publishing
professionals. Media publishing has gone digital, and professional
processing of 3D animation, video effects and final encoding outstrips
current multiprocessor systems. But, by combining these systems into
clusters, processing power is concentrated to solve the most challenging
problems, quickly and affordably.
DayStar is demonstrating the first implementation of this technology at
Macworld San Francisco. Combining 16 quad processor systems for a total of
12,000 MHz of performance, nPOWER solves one of the most time consuming
media tasks currently Cinepak compression (encoding).
DayStar originally brought new processing power to professionals, by
teaming with Apple and leading software developers of media based
applications. DayStar then developed a software architecture that would
allow Mac OS systems to use four processors within one box. Now, DayStar
has teamed with these same developers to bring even more power, by
concentrating machines into clusters over networks.
While this is not a new concept, it is unique for the following five
reasons:
— It is an open architecture receiving widespread adoption among
application developers whose customers are engaged in this kind of work.
— It is a heterogeneous architecture, allowing Mac OS systems to be
combined with Windows NT and UNIX workstations.
— It is based on Internet technologies, allowing work to take place in
local Intranet or remote Internet environments.
— It has robust fault tolerance capabilities.
— It features excellent administrative capabilities, allowing for ease
of use in setup, monitoring and even allowing service bureaus to
charge customers for this work.
Up to this point, cluster technology has been a custom rolled environment,
around a single application and hardware architecture at a single site.
Clusters built around nPOWER will unify and broaden its applications.
Using multiprocessors successfully is an art that we have perfected. said
Andrew Lewis, CEO of DayStar. Now we are taking it to the next step, by
making it Intranet/Internet capable and literally providing unlimited
scalability. Now any nPOWER user will have access to supercomputing
performance at an affordable price.
Clustering of nPOWER systems is extremely exciting! said Tom Sullivan,
Video Effects Product Manager of MetaTools. It brings blazing render speed
to the content creation game, giving digital artists more time to do what
they do best be creative.
We think the list of possibilities for clustered nPOWER systems is endless.
said Matt Hoffman, Product Development Manager of Electric Image. DayStar
is opening the door for ubiquitous media publishing.
nPOWER is an Open Standard
Unlike earlier industry attempts at distributed or network processing,
DayStar nPOWER is not tied to any single software application. Much like
the Multiprocessing API which DayStar developed for Apple, Clustering for
nPOWER is an open API (Application Programming Interface) which can be
called on by any application. It has been modified to take advantage of
standard multiprocessing.
Clusters with nPOWER use Java Platform Independent
Since DayStars clustering technology resides on the host CPU and is Java
compliant, it will be able to run over any computing system which is also
Java compliant. Users will be able to attach the computing power of other
nPOWER systems via their browser interface.
nPOWER Clusters Provide Unlimited Performance
No longer is the user limited by the performance on their desk. Now any
user can access other nPOWER systems performance through high-speed
networks, such as Ethernet, or ISDN.
Clustering with nPOWER Enables New Computing Paradigms
Clustering with nPOWER opens the possibilities for new types of on-line
computing bureaus, which can link multiple nPOWER systems for overnight
computing services. This capability further allows nPOWER users to make
money by renting out computing time, while they sleep.
Clustering with nPOWER is the Future
Hardware performance propels software technology. As history has shown,
faster performance standards allow software engineers to develop
increasingly complicated application code which leads to easier to use
applications. Clustering also enables the development of a new breed of
easy to use media-rich applications for the future of computing.
About DayStar Digital
DayStar Digital, Inc. develops, manufactures and markets high-performance
multiprocessing Mac OS-based workstations for professionals engaged in
media-publishing. DayStar is the only company to offer industrial
strength, four-processor Mac OS-based systems. DayStar developed
multiprocessing for the Mac OS in collaboration with Apple Computer.
Additionally, DayStar offers a full line of performance upgrade products
for Apple Macintosh computers. DayStar Digital, Inc., is headquartered in
Flowery Branch, Georgia, 45 minutes north of Atlanta. DayStar maintains a
Home Page on the Internet at: www.daystar.com. Contact DayStar Marketing
via e-mail at: marketing@daystar.com. DayStar currently manufactures
Genesis MP, four processor Mac OS system, and nPOWER multiprocessing
upgrades.