Server System InfrastructureSM Forum Announces Availability of Interoperability and Compliance Testing Tools at SC09

SSI Forum to also showcase the industry’s first SSI-compliant blade server by Dawning

PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Server System Infrastructure^SM Forum (SSI), a leading server industry group that drives server infrastructure standards, today announced the availability of the product development kit (PDK) and compliance test kits (CTK). The SSI Forum will highlight its Oaks Bay PDK at SC09 as well as showcasing the industry’s first SSI-compliant blade supercomputer in booth #252, Nov. 16 – 19 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland.

“The SSI Forum PDK and CTK allow our members to test interoperability and compliance respectively, and to offer their customers greater freedom of choice through industry standards and proven interoperability.”

The PDK and CTK, available only to SSI members, enable companies to take advantage of the industry-standard SSI ecosystem and SSI-compliant modules. As development of SSI products becomes more widespread and active, tools are needed to help developers test their products against known reference components and specifications. In the first quarter of 2010, the SSI Forum will offer its members the opportunity to bring their components to a third-party test house for compliance and interoperability testing with other SSI vendors’ products.

“By using the PDK and CTK, SSI member companies can significantly reduce the resources and time required for product development,” said Jim Ryan, chairman, SSI Forum. “The SSI Forum PDK and CTK allow our members to test interoperability and compliance respectively, and to offer their customers greater freedom of choice through industry standards and proven interoperability.”

The following product development kit and compliance test kits are now available for purchase from the SSI Forum:

• SSI Product Development Kit (PDK) for Interoperability: A complete, stand-alone blade system
  • “Oaks Bay” : (Product code: OAKSBAYSSI)
    • 1 Intel Victor Island Compute Blade
    • 1 AMI Chassis Management Module
    • 1 Gigabit Ethernet Low Speed Switch (“Pilot Rock” - concept/test switch)

• SSI Compliance Test Kits:
  • SSI-ITK (Integrator Test Kit) for blade, switch and mezzanine modules and mid-plane development compliance: (Product code: SSI-ITK)
    • Chassis with Power-supply & fans
    • C&I Mid-plane (routed to boundary of SSI Mid-plane Des. Guidelines)
  • SSI Module Compliance Test Kits: (Note: requires additional SSI-ITK)
    • SSI-BTK : Blade Test kit for blade and mezzanine signal-quality compliance (Product code: SSI-BTK-SQ)
    • SSI-STK : Switch Test kit for switch signal-quality compliance (Product code: SSI-STK-SQ)
    • SSI-MPTK : Mid-Plane Test kit for mid-plane signal-quality compliance (Product code: SSI-MPTK-SQ)
    • SSI-SMTK : System Management Test Kit for blades/mezzanine and switch manageability compliance (Product code: SSI-SMTK)

• Intel “Value-add” Test Kits:
  • BMTS (Blade Management Test Suite): Value-add for increased coverage of management features of your Intel Architecture-based SSI blades (Product code: BMTS)
    • Functional Unit Test for Blade Management per Chapters 6 and 7 of the SSI Blades Base Specification
    • Includes a test board which allows the Blade to be tested for Mgmt. outside of the Chassis

The SSI Forum will also demonstrate the Dawning TC3600 Blade System at SC09 - the first fully SSI-compliant system. The TC3600, which also complies with the HPCSC (High-Performance Computing Standard Committee) standard, was developed in collaboration with Intel and the SSI ecosystem. It includes an Ethernet switch from H3C, an InfiniBand switch from Voltaire, compute blades from both Dawning and Intel, and a CMM from Dawning.

For more information on the SSI Forum PDK and CTKs, please email [e-mail].

To schedule an appointment to meet with the SSI Forum at Supercomputing 2009, please contact Caitlin McClaugherty at [e-mail] or stop by the booth, #252.

About the SSI Forum

Established in 1998, the Server System Infrastructure (SSI) Forum is a leading server industry group that drives server infrastructure standards. Now with over 35 members worldwide, the SSI Forum creates standards for redundant server power systems, rack-mount server chassis, power control and management, and other components and services that simplify the build of server solutions. The SSI Forum recently extended its focus to include blade-based server standards that address customer and ecosystem challenges. SSI’s goal is to enable future server market growth by standardizing interfaces between components, including boards, chassis, and power supplies, and by developing common server hardware elements. The SSI Forum held an SSI Workshop in August 2009 that spotlighted the ease and importance of interoperability for industry-leading OEMs. More information is available at www.ssiforum.org.