Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
IBM P5 series servers, which include four processors per
node for a total of 16 processors. The servers in the cluster
work as a grid by sharing the work load of the entire organi-
zation equally among them. A pair of Cisco load balancers
make sure that processing is distributed evenly among the
servers for maximum performance. The new system includes
a 2 TB storage area network (SAN) that uses an IBM disk array
controlled by the Oracle Automatic Storage Management
(ASM) software.
System IT managers at headquarters use a central grid-
management console to oversee the entire nationwide net-
work. Problems are easily identified and fixed through the
centrally managed system. So far, the system has provided
100 percent uptime at the cash-advance centers.
Advance America took a chance with its $3.8 million
investment in this new technology, but it has paid off. Center
managers can now tap into “a continuously updated central
database and generate reports in near real time.” The new
system has decreased the time it takes to open a new Advance
America center. Managers are getting information much
more quickly, making it easier for them to analyze business
performance and customer trends. The new system is also
easy to expand as the business grows. It is estimated that the
new system will provide total net benefits of almost $3 million
over five years for an ROI of 131 percent.
You've learned in this chapter that transistor densities on
a chip double roughly every two years, a rule of thumb
referred to as Moore's Law. Bradley Erickson, chairman of
radiology at the Rochester-based Mayo Clinic, was quoted in
Computerworld as saying, "We are facing significant prob-
lems in medical imaging because the number of images
produced in CT scanners basically tracks Moore's Law. My
eyes and brain can't keep up. I see more and more images I
have to interpret. ... The innovation here is to take computer
chips and extract the information in these increasing number
of images and help present it usefully to the radiologist.”
This is a case of technology outpacing the human ability
to manage the information it produces. In such cases, we turn
to technology for solutions. For doctors and radiologists at the
Mayo Clinic, standard computer processors cannot keep up
with their need to analyze digital images. So they are turning
to the Cell processor from IBM in hopes that it will provide a
solution. The Cell processor is the chip that makes Sony's
PlayStation video-game console the most powerful console in
the industry, according to many game enthusiasts. The Cell
processor was created in a joint effort by IBM, Sony, and
Toshiba, with an architecture that is specially designed to
accelerate graphics processing. Researchers at IBM and
Mayo believe that it could turn a 10-minute CT image analysis
into a four-second job.
One of the tasks in which the Cell processor could be use-
ful is in comparing scan images of a patient over time. For
example, to track the progression or regression of cancer in
a patient, physicians compare CT scans of the tumor over time
to look for change. Changes are often too subtle for the human
eye to notice, so software that implements a complex algo-
rithm is used to analyze the photos. Using a standard PC
processor, the algorithm may take several minutes to com-
plete. While this may not sound like much, typically a physi-
cian needs to run several analyses in sequence, consuming
significant amounts of time. The process of transforming 2-D
images into 3-D—something the Cell processor was designed
for—also requires significant time using traditional proces-
sors. With the Cell processor, these tasks might be completed
in a matter of a seconds.
Mayo Clinic and its effort to speed up the analysis of image
scanning illustrate the importance of time when it comes to
processing. Whether it's working to save a life, to finish design
specifications for a new product, or to analyze stock market
trends, the difference between a minute and a second can
mean success or failure. For professionals in most industries,
having the best processor for the task at hand, and matching
it with the best hardware and software, provides them with a
winning solution.
Discussion Questions
1.
How does grid computing provide Advance America
managers with faster access to data?
2.
How did grid computing assist Advance America in break-
ing through the wall that held it back from growth?
Critical Thinking Questions
1.
Why is the new grid computing system at Advance
America much easier to install, manage, and maintain
than its old system?
2.
How might Advance America expand its system as the
company outgrows it?
SOURCES:
Staff, “Advance America Grows with Oracle Enterprise Grid,”
Computerworld Honors Program, 2007,
www.cwhonors.org/
viewCaseStudy.asp?NominationID=104.
Advance America Web Site,
www.advanceamerica.net/values.php,
accessed January 12, 2008. Staff,
“Integrated Data Infrastructure Pays Off for Advance America, Cash Advance
Centers, Inc,” Oracle Customer Snapshot,
www.oracle.com/customers/
snapshots/advance_america.pdf,
accessed January 12, 2008.
The Mayo Clinic and IBM have partnered in a venture to
improve medical imaging technology. The clinic's current
technologies aren't keeping up with the intense processing
demands required to analyze digital medical images such as
x-rays, CT scans, and MRIs.
Discussion Questions
1.
Why is the Cell processor the best processor for the Mayo
Clinic's tasks? How might it empower physicians to save
more lives?
2.
If the Cell processor is so much faster than typical PC
processors, why isn't it being used in PCs?
