PlayStation 3 Clusters In The Data Center
Sony is releasing an online version of Warhawk for its PlayStation 3 console, powered by an unusual back-end: clusters of rack-mounted PlayStation 3 systems housed in data centers around the globe. The infrastructure for WarHawk - a reissue of a flight combat game that debuted on the original PlayStation in 1995 - was outlined yesterday on the PlayStation blog.
The clusters are designed to reduce latency (lag) for PS3 users by providing shorter routes to Warhawk servers. Sony has also included an "Integrated Game Server" (IGS) with Warhawk that allows users to run their PS3 as a server, creating a distributed network of hosts. "Since Warhawk is a global online game, our IGS method scatters game servers quite literally into player’s homes all over the planet — the US, China, Europe, Australia, and Japan," writes Dylan Jobe, the game director for Warhawk, on the PlayStation blog.
"No matter where you live, what time you want to play, or what language you speak, you’ll always be able to get your game on," Jobe continued. "After all, why should you have to connect to a server a gazillion hops away when you know that there are Warhawk servers running in your state or city?"
The PlayStation 3 is powered by the Cell processor developed by IBM, Sony and Toshiba. The powerful processor is no stranger to the data center, as it is also being used in IBM blade servers and System Z mainframes. Still, that's a form factor you don't see every day. And once Guitar Hero III is released this fall, all those PS3s represent even greater temptation for data center staff.
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By Rich Miller 
August 09, 2007 | Permalink | >Get Posts By E-mail
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