Rackable, BioTeam roll out Linux cluster

Expanding an existing relationship, Rackable Systems and The BioTeam this week released Rackable Linux cluster servers bundled with BioTeam’s Inquiry bioinformatics software tools suite, announcing the product launch during the Linuxworld conference in San Francisco.

Inquiry includes more than 200 bioinformatics applications that can be accessed through a Web interface while Rackable manufactures and sells high-density server and storage products aimed at companies with high-demand computing environments. For instance, Rackable customers include Yahoo and Google, with their Web farms and search engines, as well as Pfizer and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on the pharmaceutical-scientific end of the business.

Rackable, in San Jose, Calif., and The BioTeam, in Boston, have collaborated for the past couple of years, said Tom Barton, Rackable’s president and chief executive officer, who attended Linuxworld, where the Linux servers with Inquiry were demonstrated. Rackable is the first large-scale server vendor to offer Inquiry on Linux, he said.

The cluster server with Inquiry is available now worldwide with pricing starting at $5,000 for a noncommercial license, up to $15,000 for commercial use, with the price higher for customized configurations.