by CIO Staff

PeakStream Software Unlocks Multicore Chip Speed

News
Sep 18, 20062 mins
Data Center

New software from startup PeakStream is aimed at unleashing the power in the latest generation of multicore processors.

The PeakStream Platform, introduced on Monday, is designed to make programming processors easier and faster so that the high-performance computing market can take full advantage of the latest powerful processors like multicore CPUs, graphics processor units (GPUs) and cell processors. Without the software, PeakStream says developers struggle to program the chips in a way that enables full use of the speed available in them.

The software employs stream programming, an approach to high-performance computing programming designed for the distributed, hierarchical memories of the latest multicore processors. To use the software, developers must learn the PeakStream application program interface and then build applications using standard development tools.

Developers running RedHat Enterprise Linux 4.0 update 3 on an Advanced Micro Devices Opteron or Intel Xeon workstation with supported GPUs can use PeakStream. Interested customers can evaluate the software now. It will be generally available in the fourth quarter.

In addition to enabling developers to use the full capabilities of chips, the software can help speed up and reduce the costs of the development process, PeakStream said.

PeakStream was founded last year by executives from Sun Microsystems, Nvidia, VMware and Network Appliance. They noticed a demand from computer engineers and scientists for a quicker way to design and operate computationally intense applications using high-performance chips. The company is targeting specific industries including energy exploration, finance, defense and research/academia.

PeakStream also announced on Monday that it has raised US$17 million in new funding that it will use in the introduction of the new software.

-Nancy Gohring, IDG News Service (Dublin Bureau)

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