CAD CAM News

R Systems Achieves Significant Speed-Up for Abaqus FEA from SIMULIA Using Flexible Cluster Configuration

Paris, France, and Providence, R.I., USA, October 15, 2008 – Dassault Systèmes (DS) (Nasdaq: DASTY; Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA), a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, today announced that R Systems, a technology-leading IT solutions provider, in cooperation with SIMULIA and Dana Holding Corporation, has completed a simulation benchmark using Abaqus FEA software and Windows HPC Server 2008.

“With Windows HPC Server 2008, Microsoft has made huge advancements in performance and scaling that give users of realistic simulation solutions more IT flexibility,” stated Brian Kucic, VP of Business Development for R Systems. “Using the analysis model provided by Dana and the same 32-node compute cluster, we evaluated the performance of Abaqus FEA software on both Linux and Windows. Switching between the two operating systems was straightforward and the performance of Windows HPC Server 2008 was highly competitive.”

Using 128 cores of a 256 core Intel Harpertown cluster with Quad Data Rate Infiniband, R Systems performed the benchmark study of a finite element analysis model provided by Dana to evaluate distributed memory performance of Abaqus FEA on Windows. The analysis, which normally takes a little over 2 days to complete using 8 cores, ran to completion in just under 3.5 hours.

“We were extremely pleased by the outcome of the R Systems study,” stated Frank Popielas, Manager Advanced Engineering, Sealing Products Group, Dana Holding. “The combination of flexible computing clusters and the power of parallel processing enabled by SIMULIA and Microsoft will result in significant time and money savings for Dana and the manufacturing industry as a whole.”

“SIMULIA is focused on optimizing the performance of our robust and scalable simulation software for Windows HPC Server 2008,” stated Steve Crowley, director of product management, SIMULIA, Dassault Systèmes. “R Systems provided excellent computing resources for our team to assess the performance of Windows HPC Server 2008 using Dana’s model. We were highly impressed with the results and believe Windows HPC Server 2008 makes supercomputing more accessible by allowing our end-users to harness the power of distributed computing through a familiar Windows desktop environment.”

Running Abaqus FEA software on a Windows-based cluster provides engineers with an integrated, efficient, and easily scalable high-performance computing platform for solving some of the most complex simulation and multiphysics analysis equations in less time by leveraging the combination of Abaqus distributed-memory parallel technology and Windows clustering solutions.

About R Systems:
R Systems NA, inc. is a privately held corporation providing high-end computing resources for research. R Systems offers rapid response, queue sensitive, production environment with utility or dedicated access depending upon your project. Custom service level agreements are available if needed. R systems will provide services aimed at benefiting the commercial research community and improving the quality of life throughout the planet. www.rsystemsinc.com

About Dassault Systèmes
As a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, Dassault Systèmes brings value to more than 100,000 customers in 80 countries. A pioneer in the 3D software market since 1981, Dassault Systèmes develops and markets PLM application software and services that support industrial processes and provide a 3D vision of the entire lifecycle of products from conception to maintenance to recycling. The Dassault Systèmes portfolio consists of CATIA for designing the virtual product - SolidWorks for 3D mechanical design - DELMIA for virtual production - SIMULIA for virtual testing - ENOVIA for global collaborative lifecycle management, and 3DVIA for online 3D lifelike experiences. Dassault Systèmes is listed on the Nasdaq (DASTY) and Euronext Paris (#13065, DSY.PA) stock exchanges. For more information, visit http://www.3ds.com.