[1st-mile-nm] NMCAC-Darkstrand Announcement

[Richard Lowenberg]

Darkstrand-NM

New Mexico Computing Applications Center Brings One of the World's Fastest
Supercomputers to Darkstrand Network

New Partnership Brings Greater Speed, Bandwidth and Research Brainshare Critical
for Corporate America to Maintain Global Competitive Advantage

www.marketwatch.com/news/story/New-Mexico-Computing-Applications-Center/story.aspx?guid={D4AF20EE-6BA1-4250-835E-D62F6400253E}

Nov. 19, 2008

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov 19, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Today, Darkstrand, a pioneer in
corporate high-speed connectivity bridging research and commercialization,
announced a strategic partnership agreement with the New Mexico Computing
Applications Center (NMCAC), a premier research institution dedicated to
applications-driven high-speed computer problem solving. NMCAC currently hosts
the 12th fastest supercomputer in the world, according to the biannual TOP500
Project, known as "Encanto," and this alliance opens a virtual gateway for
corporate America to the vast supercomputing resources and expertise that NMCAC
holds. Corporations with connectivity to the Darkstrand fiber optic network will
now have the power to drive innovative, high-performance computing (HPC)
initiatives in real-time collaboration with NMCAC supercomputer and its
affiliated institutions.

"The state of New Mexico and NMCAC are on the forefront of an economic
development explosion," said Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico. "By
bringing together New Mexico's scientific talent, the power of Encanto, and
this advanced networking technology we are creating a new model of innovation
that can bring sources of revenue to New Mexico from companies, not only within
our state borders, but throughout the world."

Darkstrand changes the game, allowing companies to leverage research labs and
universities nationwide. For the first time, corporations can actively
collaborate in the entire R&D cycle, beginning with discovery, moving through
prototype development and ending with commercialization. This new collaborative
R&D and collaborative model is taking shape because of the power of the
Darkstrand network to drive massive production data seamlessly between
geographic locations on dedicated 10 G circuits. This capability enables
companies located anywhere in the United States to work intimately with
researchers and HPC applications at NMCAC member institutions.

"Darkstrand was created to liberate innovation in American corporations by
leveraging the technology and minds of academia that can connect ideas with
computing capability," said Michael Stein, CEO and Founder of Darkstrand.
"Today's partnership with NMCAC further extends the reach of our network,
giving companies the unleashed power and speed they need to solve workflow
problems using high-performance computing tools."

In the coming months, Darkstrand and NMCAC will work on a joint implementation
plan that creates a seamless corporate path from discovery to
commercialization. Darkstrand and NMCAC will also work with the state of New
Mexico on public sector initiatives like education and healthcare, with the
goal of extending the state's reach into all geographic areas for access to
information and critical services.

"Our supercomputer was created to drive groundbreaking research for education
and commerce in the state of New Mexico, and our ability to partner with the
Darkstrand Network will advance innovation and collaboration by providing the
hardware and the subject matter expertise that corporations are looking for,"
said Thomas J. Bowles, PhD, Science Advisor for Governor Richardson. "NMCAC
brings to the corporate doorstep a wide range of R&D expertise in sectors like
health, biotechnology, digital film and media, energy, and oil and gas."

In addition to direct access to the NMCAC, the Darkstrand partnership will
connect companies with NMCAC-affiliate research institutions, including Los
Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, University of New
Mexico, New Mexico State University and New Mexico Institute of Mining and
Technology. Encanto, the NMCAC and its affiliates will connect directly to the
Darkstrand Network, which is currently upgrading its backbone to 40 Gig speed.
The NMCAC Encanto supercomputer is located at Intel Corporation's Fab 7 plant in
Rio Rancho. The 172 Teraflop supercomputer was built using advanced technology
from Intel and Silicon Graphics, Inc. (SGI). The NMCAC is located in
Albuquerque, but will be connected in a network of gateway sites at the
national labs, universities and colleges across New Mexico and ultimately
throughout the US and globally. For more information on the NMCAC, please
visit: http://www.newmexicosupercomputer.com/.

In June 2008, Darkstrand developed a business alliance with the NLR, acquiring
one half of National LambdaRail's (NLR) 15,000-route mile optical network that
is currently spread across 30 U.S. cities. NLR's unparalleled network supports
large-scale digital production work for research groups that need multi-gigabit
speed and access to high-performance computing power. The NLR is the backbone of
the Darkstrand Network, providing a direct-line from the knowledge-driven
science world such as NMCAC to results-oriented enterprises that will
ultimately enable U.S. companies to innovate and more effectively compete
globally.

About Darkstrand
Darkstrand, Inc. leverages enterprise-level network bandwidth to close the
collaboration gap between corporations and research communities. Darkstrand is
a pivotal corporate partner for solving real workflow, development and
collaborative challenges, linking teams, facilities and suppliers into one
ecosystem in a high-speed, networked grid environment via the National
LambdaRail (NLR), a vast 15,000-route mile optical network spread across 30
U.S. cities. Darkstrand shortens time to insight and expands productivity for
companies wanting a competitive edge. Based in Chicago, Illinois, Darkstrand
was established in 2005, and has raised $12 million to date from private
investors. For more information, visit http://www.darkstrand.com.

About New Mexico Computing Applications Center
The New Mexico Computing Applications Center was approved by New Mexico's
Legislature in 2007 and began operations in 2008 as a resource for
applications-driven high-speed computer problem solving. Working closely with
the Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Labs and the State's three
research universities, the NMCAC is dedicated to serving the needs of the
people of New Mexico as well as tackling some of the nation's most pressing
problems like energy and the environment using high-speed computing.   The
Center works with federal institutions, other states and private companies to
run their own applications or develop new ones using its 172 teraflop SGi
supercomputer named 'Encanto' which is based at Intel's New Mexico headquarters
in Rio Rancho just a few miles from Albuquerque.

SOURCE: Darkstrand, Inc.

Copyright Business Wire 2008


-- 
Richard Lowenberg
1st-Mile Institute
P.O. Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504
505-989-9110;   505-603-5200 cell
rl at 1st-mile.com  www.1st-mile.com

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