Cray Announces New AI Workflow Software Suite and Reference Configurations to Jump-Start AI and Analytics Deployments
June 25 2018 - 3:01AM
Empowering Data Scientists and IT
Managers to Deliver AI Value
Today at the 2018 International Supercomputing Conference in
Frankfurt, Germany, global supercomputer leader Cray Inc.
(Nasdaq:CRAY) announced it is accelerating and simplifying its
customers’ path to value from artificial intelligence (AI). The
company is introducing the Cray® Urika®-CS AI and Analytics
software suite for the Cray® CS™ series and new Cray® Accel AI™
reference configurations to help IT and AI teams.
A typical AI workflow spans data preparation using analytic
tools through to model development and model deployment using AI
tools. It can be time consuming and resource intensive to
implement. The Cray Urika-CS AI and Analytics suite and new Cray
Accel AI reference configurations join key tools and system
configuration guidance to simplify the implementation of AI. The
Cray Urika-CS AI and Analytics suite makes the most popular AI and
analytics tools and frameworks readily available on all GPU- and
CPU-based Cray CS series systems, including TensorFlow™, BigDL,
Apache Spark™, Dask, Jupyter Notebook and TensorBoard.
The Cray Urika-CS AI and Analytics suite is optimized for and
supported on the Cray CS series cluster supercomputers and brings
analytics and artificial intelligence capabilities to existing HPC
and emerging AI environments. Combined with the Cray Urika-XC
AI and Analytics suite for the Cray XC series supercomputers, these
powerful tools will now be available across Cray’s portfolio of
computing solutions.
“Today’s organizations are faced with a daunting task: to
quickly implement and integrate new applications that take
advantage of the latest advancements in Artificial Intelligence,”
said Mike Leone, senior analyst at ESG. “Successful AI application
deployments require that teams overcome numerous hurdles, including
infrastructure complexity and a constantly evolving technology
landscape. There's an increasing demand for a simplified way to
make AI workflows more efficient and sustainable by leveraging a
purpose-built system that simultaneously addresses the integration,
performance, and support challenges brought on by AI.”
Additionally, Cray is introducing updated Cray Accel AI
reference configurations, which are designed to give IT teams the
ability to quickly meet the needs of AI teams implementing the AI
workflow. The new Cray Accel AI reference configurations bring
together Cray CS series systems, Cray® ClusterStor™
high-performance storage and Cray Urika-CS AI and Analytics
software to provide system configuration guidance to IT
organizations that are selecting and implementing infrastructure to
meet AI team requirements. Updated and expanded Cray Accel AI
configurations are available in both a “Prototype” and “Production”
configuration.
“Today’s AI solutions are either too narrowly focused on deep
learning or too ad hoc in their design approaches to meet the needs
of AI and IT teams developing and delivering AI applications,”
said Fred Kohout, Cray’s senior vice president of products and
chief marketing officer. “Cray is taking the pain and guesswork out
of AI deployments so companies can get to business outcomes
faster.”
Cray Urika-CS AI and Analytics SuiteThe Cray
Urika-CS AI and Analytics suite addresses four key issues facing AI
and IT teams:
- Access to a range of tools for the AI
workflow: Data preparation and model development require
different frameworks and tools. The Cray Urika-CS suite includes
popular data analytics environments (Apache Spark™ and Dask), data
science libraries for Python (Anaconda distribution), machine and
deep learning frameworks (TensorFlow and BigDL) and interactive
environments to visualize data science work (Jupyter Notebook and
TensorBoard).
- Simplified and distributed model training with
TensorFlow: Setting up and using TensorFlow for
distributed model training can be laborious. The Cray Urika-CS
suite includes the Cray Distributed Training Framework – originally
developed for Cray XC Series supercomputers running Cray’s Urika-XC
AI and Analytics suite – simplifies and reduces the time associated
with configuring and running TensorFlow-based distributed neural
network training and can reduce the time required to train deep
learning models by leveraging the supercomputing infrastructure
available on Cray CS series systems.
- Reduced time and complexity for the setup and
maintenance of AI and Analytics environments: Setting up
and maintaining a consistent environment for users can be a
time-consuming, seemingly never-ending task. With the Cray Urika-CS
suite, Cray provides an integrated and tested suite of tools –
ready to run on Cray CS series systems – that eliminate the time
required by IT teams to download, install, test, debug and
distribute myriad AI tools and frameworks to users.
- Support for open-source tools and frameworks:
With the Cray Urika-CS suite, Cray is the single point of contact
for support and updates.
Cray Accel AI™ reference configurationsThe new
Cray Accel AI reference configurations are designed to simplify the
choices for IT teams deploying infrastructure for the AI
workflow:
- Prototype configuration for small AI teams: a
single-rack configuration that includes a combination of Cray’s
CS500 CPU nodes and CS-Storm 500NX GPU-accelerated nodes for data
preparation, analytics, machine learning and deep learning with
Cray ClusterStor L300F flash and L300N disk storage solutions for
performant cost-effective data pools. The Cray Urika-CS suite
provides the software to best utilize this heterogeneous compute
and hybrid storage configuration.
- Production configuration for larger or growing
teams: A multi-rack configuration with separate racks for CPU-based
compute, GPU-based compute and storage that allows for flexible
scaling as teams grow and needs evolve.
The combination of systems and software has been designed so
that IT teams can enable their AI users to focus on insight and
results rather than system and tools.
The Cray Urika-CS AI and Analytics suite and updated Accel AI
reference configurations will be available in the third quarter of
2018. For more information on the Cray Urika-CS AI and
Analytics suite and the Cray Accel AI™ reference
configurations, please visit the Cray website
at www.cray.com.
About Cray Inc.Cray Inc. (Nasdaq:CRAY) combines
computation and creativity so visionaries can keep asking questions
that challenge the limits of possibility. Drawing on more than 45
years of experience, Cray develops the world’s most advanced
supercomputers, pushing the boundaries of performance, efficiency
and scalability. Cray continues to innovate today at the
convergence of data and discovery, offering a comprehensive
portfolio of supercomputers, high-performance storage, data
analytics and artificial intelligence solutions. Go to
www.cray.com for more information.
Safe Harbor Statement This press release
contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section
21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933, including, but not limited to, statements
related to the availability and performance of the new Cray
Urika-CS AI & Analytics software suite and new Cray Accel AI
reference configurations features and functionality. These
statements involve current expectations, forecasts of future events
and other statements that are not historical facts. Inaccurate
assumptions and known and unknown risks and uncertainties can
affect the accuracy of forward-looking statements and cause actual
results to differ materially from those anticipated by these
forward-looking statements. Factors that could affect actual future
events or results include, but are not limited to, the risk that
Cray is not able to successfully complete its planned product
development efforts in a timely fashion or at all, the risk that
the new Cray Urika-CS Analytics and AI software suite and new Cray
Accel AI reference configurations features and functionality are
not generally available when expected or at all or do not perform
as expected and such other risks as identified in the Company’s
quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31,
2018, and from time to time in other reports filed by Cray with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. You should not
rely unduly on these forward-looking statements, which apply only
as of the date of this release. Cray undertakes no duty to publicly
announce or report revisions to these statements as new information
becomes available that may change the Company’s expectations.
Cray, the stylized CRAY mark and URIKA are registered trademarks
of Cray Inc. in the United States and other
countries. The following are trademarks of Cray Inc.: Accel
AI, ClusterStor, CS, and CS-Storm. Other product and service
names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective
owners.
Cray Media:Juliet McGinnis206/701-2152pr@cray.com
Cray Investors:Paul Hiemstra206/701-2044ir@cray.com
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