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RACKABLE SYSTEMS TO HELP POWER WORLD'S FIRST DEMONSTRATION OF TERAFLOP COMPUTING FOR WELL UNDER ONE MILLION DOLLARS

- Works with Intel, Mellanox Technologies, others to illustrate how high-performance computing can be achieved with off-the-shelf solutions and industry-standard interconnects -

SUPERCOMPUTING CONFERENCE, PHOENIX, Nov. 17, 2003 - Rackable Systems, a leading provider of large-scale data center server solutions, today announced its participation in the world's first demonstration of TeraFlop computing achieved for significantly less than one million dollars. "TeraFlops Off-the-Shelf" (TOTS) will illustrate how TeraFlop speed, or one trillion mathematical calculations per second, can be attained with off-the-shelf solutions, open-source applications and relatively small footprint in a data center. Rackable Systems, one of the world's largest manufacturers of servers using Intel architecture-based motherboards, is part of a multi-vendor collaboration that will demonstrate TOTS at the Mellanox Technologies booth during the 2003 Supercomputing Conference.

     TeraFlop speed is fast becoming an industry requirement for conducting large simulations, analyzing data and managing experiments in areas such as biopharmaceuticals, chemistry, climatology, electronic security, high-energy physics, geology, mechanical engineering and public health. Until recently, systems designed to break the TeraFlop barrier required 1,480 processors, were based on proprietary technology and cost on average greater than $20 million per TeraFlop. With this week's demonstration of TOTS, high performance computing (HPC) users have a roadmap for deploying easy, inexpensive and simple HPC clusters that deliver the performance and operational power needed for today's advanced applications.

     "HPC clusters assembled with Intel architecture-based Xeon™ processors are making high-performance clustering cheaper, easier and more compatible with open standards," said Tom Barton, president and CEO, Rackable Systems. "These types of processors are helping Rackable Systems deliver superior price performance, reduce overall operating costs and increase compute power for our HPC customers. The Three-Level cache architecture of the Xeon-processor family significantly enhances the data handling capabilities of HPC applications that deal with large datasets."

     "Open industry standard technology platforms are making TeraFlops off the shelf a reality," said Jim Pappas, director of initiative marketing for Intel's Enterprise Platform Group. "Dense rack mounted servers clustered together in an industry standard InfiniBand cluster has provided a breakthrough in performance and ease of deployment of a TeraFlops capable configuration."

     Rackable Systems will power a 64-node Xeon-based cluster as part of the 192-node TOTS demonstration, which will feature a visualization of NASA's Impinging Jet data set. The company is participating in the demonstration with leading equipment, software and services vendors including ATI Technologies, Callident, InfiniCon Systems, Intel Corporation, Mellanox Technologies, Ohio State University, Sandia National Labs, The SourceForge InfiniBand Open Source Project, Topspin Communications and Voltaire.

     The world's first TOTS demonstration will be held in the Mellanox Technologies booth, number 1011, at this year's Supercomputing Conference, Nov. 18-22, in Phoenix.

ABOUT RACKABLE SYSTEMS
Founded in 1999 and headquartered in San Jose, Calif., Rackable Systems leads the industry in large-scale data center deployment solutions. Through innovative design, patented technology and commitment to customer service, the company offers a broad line of server products that can be rapidly deployed in data centers and other demanding IT environments. Serving leading-edge technology companies, universities and research & development organizations, Rackable Systems' customers include Cold Springs Harbor Laboratories, Deutsche Bank, Electronic Arts, Google, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, nVidia, Pfizer, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Sony America, Tellme Networks, Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc., U.C.S.C. Human Genome Project, U.S. Department of Justice, Webex and Yahoo!.

To learn more about Rackable Systems, go to www.rackable.com, call 408-240-8300, or write to info@rackable.com.

Rackable Systems is a registered trademark of Rackable Systems®, Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective holders.

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