Minimal Metrics Optimizes Streaming Analytics for Ontario’s Electricity Provider
Minimal Metrics has signed a contract with Affinity Systems to assist in the optimization and tuning of a streaming data analytics application for the IESO, the Canadian Independent Electricity System Operator. As stated on their website: The Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) balances the supply of and demand for electricity in Ontario and then directs its flow across the province’s transmission lines. The IESO works at the heart of Ontario’s power system, connecting all participants − generators that produce electricity, transmitters that send it across the province, retailers that buy and sell it, industries and businesses that use it in large quantities, and local distribution companies that deliver it to people’s homes. Minimal Metrics will assess and optimize the performance of a advanced streaming-data appliance responsible for the processing of millions of smart-meter readings taken constantly across the entire power grid. This appliance, built by Affinity Systems of Ontario, consists of a small…
Sandia National Laboratories Signs Minimal Metrics
Sandia National Laboratories has just signed Minimal Metrics to help in their performance analysis of their next-generation high-performance computing platforms. In particular, the Application Performance Modeling and Analysis team is interested in studying the effects of stall cycles on application performance. More specifically, parallel scientific simulation kernels running on Intel’s Sandy Bridge systems. Stall cycles, or periods of time where the processor is not producing any results, are notoriously difficult to account for. While the hardware architects have added some hardware instrumentation to help accomplish this, using that instrumentation requires extensive background and understand of the specific microprocessor’s architecture. Sandia, while possessing leading expertise in application performance, is looking to leverage Minimal Metrics’ unparalleled experience in the field in an attempt to further their research. Minimal Metrics will be working closely with Sandia’s application developers and systems teams to ensure that their code and systems are working as optimally as…
Minimal Metrics Accelerates Seismic Data Processing
When GeoSpace Technologies, a global leader in seismic data acquisition systems, wanted to scale up their performance and their capacity, they called Minimal Metrics. Aside from high-frequency trading, no-where is the performance a bigger differentiator than in seismic data processing. While the hardware and algorithms are highly guarded trade secrets, the process is relatively simple to explain. It consists of collecting seismic data from a large number of sensors, removing the impulse (transmitted) signal, correlating that data along temporal and spatial boundaries and then combining that data into a picture of what lies beneath. This picture actually consists of millions of data points and is often used as input into additional processing designed to identify features of interest – like natural gas deposits. Rapid turnaround time to this process is absolutely key due to the capital expenditures required to keep exploration and drilling equipment and personnel in the field. This pipeline is extremely data…
Scalable Informatics and Minimal Metrics: The Fastest Disks in the West
Minimal Metrics has formed a strategic partnership with Scalable Informatics, makers of some of the fastest high performance storage subsystems on the planet. While having extensive experience in application optimization and high performance computing system design, Minimal Metrics was lacking the deep experience necessary to solve some of our customers’ unique storage challenges. Enter Joe Landman, CEO and Chief Architect of Scalable Informatics. Joe has over 20 years in the design and optimization of high end storage systems – and that experiences shows brilliantly through Scalable Informatics’ product line. With significant customers in the financial sector, health care, simulation science and high performance computing, Joe and Scalable Informatics have the kind of expertise and reputation our customers have grown to expect. Through this partnership with Joe and his team, Minimal Metrics extends their stellar capabilities into the realm of high performance storage and the robust processing of “Big Data“.
Minimal Metrics to attend SC2012
The annual Supercomputing 2012 conference is almost upon us. This year, it will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah. Philip Mucci will be attending from Sunday November 11th to the morning of Wednesday, November 14th. In addition to wandering the floor, Philip will be meeting with current and prospective clients. Interested in what Minimal Metrics can do for your productivity? Drop us a line and meet Philip at the show – you’ll be glad you did.
Minimal Metrics partners with LeanFirm consulting to provide real-time business intelligence to housing authorities.
LeanFirm consulting specializes in helping municipalities all over the United States re-engineer and optimize their workflows. What’s a workflow in this case? Consider the case of maintaining an optimal sized inventory of spare vehicle parts. It’s not just a matter of when a part is ordered, but when the decision is approved, when the money is available, when the part is actually delivered or how many times per year the part is needed. While the procedure may be long, the decisions made at each stage are rather clear – with each decision being logged in some form or another by the responsible party. But since none of the information is centralized (remember that most municipal governments are working with data systems that were designed in the early 80’s), getting actionable suggestions for improvements is limited to the observations at each point in the chain. How does one develop real-time and…