Amazon’s powerful Cluster Compute, released Tuesday, is Amazon’s most powerful cloud server yet. The system will run Linux, according to Ars Technica. Amazon states that each node will consist of a pair of Intel Xeon X5570s with 2.93 GHz and 8MB of on-chip cache memory so that the customer can design for that specific hardware. Also, for improved performance, the nodes will have 10 Gigabyte-per-second Ethernet interfaces connecting them. .
If that’s not enough for you then take notice: It costs only $1.60 per hour per instance for on-demand usage. And if you are a really savvy user then you can reserve an instance for a whole year for $4,290 or $6,590 for three years, and $0.56/hour of usage.
While the average individual might not be able to afford to pay for a whole year, the on-demand service does open up short-term opportunities for individuals. The service can be used for anything from genome research to running tedious financing programs and from any field in academia to small or large businesses.
[Via CNET]