xb/70 Valkyrie - the new wave in Supercomputing

Technology one can truly rely upon!

INTRODUCING:

xb/70 Valkyrie^®
Hardware is described below. Click the Astronaut on right for software & subsystem options.

An affordable massively parallel supercomputer from American Computer -- makers of the Eagle, Panther, Jaguar, and Apollo. And now: the MAXSYS "xb/70 Valkyrie". With an estimated maximum performance of as much as 172 MILLION MEGA-TIPS (that's: 172,000,000,000,000 Theoretical Instructions Per Second !), the xb/70 Valkyrie's largest possible configuration might be thought of as, well...

"The fastest supercomputer on earth!"

ABOUT THE xb/70 Valkyrie

The xb/70 ® Valkyrie is based on a powerful system architecture, MAXSYS ®, which makes advanced super-computation a breeze. A single xb/70 Valkyrie multiplies performance by using a very advanced "massively parallel" architecture, one which efficiently couples many hundreds of clusters of inexpensive, high speed INTEL PENTIUM PRO Processors into a single, unified team, all working towards a common goal. The xb/70 can be expanded from 4 to 262,144 "modules", each arranged in "Nodes" that symmetrically multiprocess and multitask PENTIUM PRO CPUs. This enables a theoretical limit of up to as many as 1,000,000+ of these extremely powerful INTEL PENTIUM PRO central processors to execute complex parallel programs in as large a powerful supercomputer configuration as may be needed. Of course, most owners won't require a system THIS large, the system can work as efficiently in a small configuration as it can in much larger ones.

And, the xb/70 Valkyrie is also capable of being implemented as a PHYSICALLY DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM - which means that you can place parts of a single Valkyrie in different geographic locations, link them together by fast dedicated communications, and accomplish virtually the same performance as were they in one location: expand your Valkyrie as you expand your business and it can keep up right with you! Decentralize and it decentralizes with you, consolidate and it can be consolidated, too!

During the next two years, American Computer is comitted to increasing the performance of the xb/70 Valkyrie when a new series based on INTEL's next generation large scale microprocessor is introduced. When INTEL delivers the next generation of 64 BIT Microprocessors, code named "MERCED", the Valkyrie will follow, with full software compatibility, and a new class of 64 BIT applications able to take advantage of its unique power.

The xb/70 Valkyrie is internally scaleable, not just in terms of processing power, but also in terms of internal communications between its many processors. Its patented MAXSYS^® three tier internal communication pathway system ensures that xb/70 Valkyrie makes the grade when passing messages and common data in, around and among a large number of coordinated tasks.

These and other features make the MAXSYS architecture perfect for use in such applications as Search Engines, Database Managers, Telephony Communications Servers, Research Modeling and Simulation, and Artificial Intelligence. The most remarkable features of xb/70's advanced architecture is that no matter how large it is scaled, an xb/70 Valkyrie system is capable of insuring "end-to-end", "many-to-many", "many-to-one", "one-to-many" and "one-to-one" communications, at speeds guaranteed not to fall below 200MB per second when required, per path, for virtually all applications.

This means that, through advanced processor mapping strategies, xb/70 reaches optimal efficiency when processors are working together, a critical capability unrealized by any other parallel or massively parallel computer manufacturer today.

ADVANCED FEATURES
Each group of 4 processors in a single module uses its own isolated, dedicated 233 MB per second full duplex local bus to intercommunicate through a common switching bandpass network to its 3 peers in a single module. Each group of four such Modules, called a "Node", uses an isolated, dedicated 200+ MB per second full duplex Network Bus to intercommunicate with each of their three peer modules.

Each group of 4 "Nodes", called a "Cluster", share an additional 200 MB per second full duplex Network Bus. And each group of 256 Clusters (called a "Complex") share an ultra high speed multi-duplex Fiber Optic Managed Switching Network Bus, all coordinated by a "no-load" automatic routing system which maintains maximum performance.

An efficient, advanced message routing processor is added in larger configurations to interconnect up to 64 Complexes into a single unified logical supercomputer. The resulting hypersystem has earthshaking computational capacity beyond any other present day computer.

This means that you can start small, with an xb/70 with only 4 modules, and build up your xb/70 Valkyrie as large as you wish to, later. Or, you can start large, and then split such an xb/70 Valkyrie system into two or more smaller xb/70's if you want to later. In fact, you can subdivide an xb/70 into "dynamic virtual subcomplexes" of smaller "virtual xb/70's" during application operation, and recombine them into larger complexes at the whim of the desired software application, without manual reconfiguration or physical operator intervention, all done at "machine speed".

Try doing that with a mainframe or conventional supercomputer.

AN AFFORDABLE ALTERNATIVE!
The xb/70's scalability factor is nearly limitless. Imagine having thousands of 32-Bit INTEL Pentium Pro 200 Megaherz Processors available to run your software at a single time! Serviced and supported by the best tech support around... A Research, Scientific and Engineering dream to say the least, the perfect superComputer for that large scale intranet server needed to support hundreds of thousands of simultaneous users, or that back office system that helps your bank or brokerage stay profitable.

And the best part is: you don't have to walk on thin air to own an xb/70 Valkyrie and it doesn't cost anywhere near as much as building your own space shuttle (ask our friendly "space walker" above...). Our leasing programs and user friendly system interface with the look and feel of Microsoft Windows is ready right out of the box! Leases for an xb/70 model 16 starting at around $1500 a month...

GET MORE INFORMATION, NOW!
For more information, call American at 1-800-850-7710, or e-mail us! We'll be glad to configure a system for you and provide pricing and delivery estimates!!!

WHERE DID WE GET THE NAME, xb/70 Valkyrie?
Most of the development of our xb/70 Valkyrie was done in our highest security development facility in New Jersey due to the need to develop it with the utmost of Industrial and Commercial Secrecy. As a result, it almost seemed like we were developing something even more super secret than just the worlds fastest supercomputer.

And so, we code-named it "Valkerie" -- after one of our favorite, and one of the most famous, super-high-technology exercises devised for the U.S. Air Force by the then United States Secretary of Defense and the Strategic Air Command. The name stuck.

The XB-70 VALKYRIE, one of the world's most exotic airplanes, was conceived for the Strategic Air Command in the 1950s as a high-altitude bomber that could fly three times the speed of sound (Mach 3). It was built by the North American Aviation Corporation. Because of fund limitations, only two were built, not as bombers, but as research aircraft for the advanced study of aerodynamics, propulsion, and other subjects related to large supersonic aircraft. The Valkyrie was built largely of stainless-steel honeycomb sandwich panels and titanium. It was designed to make use of a phenomenon called "compression lift," achieved when the shock wave generated by the airplane flying at supersonic speeds supports part of the airplane's weight. For improved stability at supersonic speeds, the Valkyrie could droop its wingtips as much as 65 degrees.

The No. 1 XB-70 made its initial flight on September 21, 1964, and achieved Mach 3 flight on October 14, 1965. The No. 2 airplane first flew on July 17, 1965, but on June 8, 1966, it crashed following a mid-air collision. The No. 1 airplane continued in its research program until flown to the Air Force Museum at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, on February 4, 1969. (The prototype American Computer Company xb/70 Valkyrie Supercomputer made its maiden run on September 21 of 1996 and was taken down for ongoing maintenance testing on October 14 of 1996. But it wasn't announced to the public until November 22, 1996. During the pre-release stage, the xb/70 product was described as the "Vulcan" supercomputer -- in part to keep its full capabilities under wraps from our competitors watchful eyes -- Vulcan was one of our mid range computers introduced back in the early 1990s!)

XB-70 VALKYRIE AIRCRAFT SPECIFICATIONS
Span: 105 ft.
Length: 185 ft. 10 in. without boom; 192 ft. 2 in. with boom
Height: 30 ft. 9 in.
Weight: 534,700 lbs. loaded
Armament: None
Engines: Six General Electric YJ-93s of 30,000 lbs. thrust each with afterburner.
Airframe Manufacturer: North American Aviation

PERFORMANCE
Maximum speed: 2,056 mph. (Mach 3.1) at 73,000 ft.
Cruising speed: 2,000 mph. (Mach 3.0) at 72,000 ft.
Range: 4,288 miles
Service Ceiling: 77,350 ft.

The Valkyrie played a unique role in the Cold War, even though it had no specific armament. It evoked visions of an unstoppable Mach 3 Bomber that would require special intercepter aircraft with high altitude and extreme speed. In response to the production of the only two Valkyries every built for SAC by North American, the Soviet Union invested its precious budget into the development of a fleet of counter weapons: advanced MIG bomber-intercept fighters, exhausting the Soviet's limited budget for jet fighter aircraft. Not only did the Valkyrie provide enormously valuable technological insight into the concepts needed for later trans-sonic aircraft, control surfaces and propulsion, like those used in later bombers and civilian air craft, the XB-70 was in part responsible for causing the Soviet Union to find its defenses frustrated without the kinds of fighters it needed to deal with the rest of the SAC Armada during the 60s and 70s, embarrasment from which may have contributed to the eventual end of the Cold War... (Picture obtained from the US Air Force Museum -- click to go there.)

GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE xb/70 Valkyrie SUPERCOMPUTER!
For more information, call American at 1-800-850-7710, or e-mail us! We'll be glad to configure a system for you and provide pricing and delivery estimates!!!

xb/70, Valkyrie and MAXsys are registered trademarks of American Computer Company. Export or transportation of MAXSYS xb/70 computer systems outside of the United States requires a valid, approved export license issued and confirmed by the U.S. Government.

© 1996, 1997 American Computer Company. All rights reserved.