They’re working hard on their image down in Alabama, and the state is celebrating an event that it hopes will really put it on the high-tech map – the opening of the Alabama Supercomputer Network, based in Huntsville’s Cummings Research Park, which went fully operational less than one year after the project was initiated by the state – without Federal help: Boeing Co operates and manages the project under a $38.7m six year contract, and the network is built around a Cray Research X/MP-24 supercomputer and supports eight node sites across the state, including the University of Alabama in Huntsville, the University of Alabama at Birmingham; the University of Alabama, the University of South Alabama in Mobile, the state’s Data Systems Management Division in Montgomery; the National Fertiliser Development Centre/University of North Alabama in Muscle Shoals; Auburn University; and Troy State University; each has either an IBM 9370 or a DEC VAX 8250 as node processor on the net.
