The lack of Linux on the PS3 problem for American scientists

By blocking the installation of another OS than the default on the Playstation 3, Sony has angered some users, especially Linux users, but not limited to: the manufacturer has also posed a serious challenge to American air force.

Last year, the Research Laboratory of the Air Force, located in Rome in upstate New York had indeed made the acquisition of over 2,000 PS3 to perform complex calculations at lower cost: the researchers The Cell processor used by the console, which has a computing power of 230.4 gigaflops vector, actually offered a price-performance ratio excellent - an investment of over two million dollars for a power calculation to 500 Teraflops total.

Only problem: all the consoles used by the Air Force are configured Linux operating system now impossible to install on the console since the establishment of the Sony firmware. And if the problem does not arise for the Playstation 3 already installed, since they are not related to the Playstation Network and does not require updating, the situation is more delicate when it comes to replacing faulty machines.

Asked by Arstechnica, the Air Force Research Laboratory has not hidden his annoyance about this situation: "We must continue to use the systems we've already got," said one official of the laboratory, "but it will be very difficult to replace the models down. The problem is that when they come home from after-sales service Sony, they have the gameOS and firmware update that prevents the replacement of the operating system. We are aware of the collective action pending against Sony regarding this restriction, "he added.

The Laboratory of the Air Force is not the only research site using ps3 to be confronted with this problem: the University of Massachusetts uses in effect since 2007, 16 mounted Playstation 3 network and study gravitational waves black holes . "It is very likely that the raw computing power per dollar offered by the PS3 is significantly higher than any other machine offered on the market today" said a few months ago one of the researchers at UMass. But consoles running on Linux ...

These projects will continue to move until the machines remain in working condition, and that the second hand market will offer alternatives to the researchers. But if the situation could be a lesson to the U.S. Air Force on the use of equipment for the public to perform scientific calculations, for the U.S. Army laboratory, it is an economic need: "The market and gaming graphics is always at the forefront, and lowers the cost of high performance computing, the FLOPS / dollar WATTS. It is very important for high performance computing, our field of expertise. It is a rapidly evolving business and technology sponsored by the major consumer markets will always be advantageous in cost. This gives us the means to develop the HPC at low cost, with a limited budget, "commented the spokesman of the laboratory.