Dell to add computer power to Emirates Team New Zealand

by Warren Douglas on 13 Jul 2011
Dell has joined the Emirates Team New Zealand challenge for the 34th America’s Cup, adding significantly to the design team’s computer fire power.

Dell will supply the team with IT system design, hardware, system software and implementation.
The technology will help the design team’s programme for the AC72 catamarans that will race in San Francisco is 2013.

Emirates Team New Zealand will build two of the 72ft catamarans, the first due to be launched mid-2012.

The team’s technical director Nick Holroyd said Dell’s high-performance computing cluster – a group of linked servers - will provide the power and performance the team designers and engineers need.

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'The cluster includes Dell’s PowerEdge C servers and storage, software and a network optimised for high-performance computer clusters.'

The technology is from Dell’s Data Centre Solutions group based at Austin, Texas.

As an exclusive supplier to the team, Dell will also provide infrastructure and services for day-to-day IT functions, including a virtualisation environment, email, file and print, web services, database and backup.

Dell will help ETNZ develop and execute social media campaigns on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

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Emirates Team New Zealand, the world's top professional sailing team also announced, today at a media conference at the team's Auckland base, that it has ramped up its challenge for the 34th America’s Cup with the launch of two 33ft catamarans.

The catamarans have a dual role – crew training for the sailing team and as test platforms for the design team.

Managing director Grant Dalton says the yachts will be modified to test design concepts for the AC72 catamarans that will race in the 2013 America’s Cup.

Dalton said today: 'We needed a way to get the entire sailing team working on the water and the design team wanted to be able to test in the real world.

'The SL33s are the ideal solution. With a crew of four or five the sailing crew will get the time on the water they need and the designers will be able to make frequent modifications over coming months.

'The yachts are plain black making modifications easier and cheaper to do.'

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Skipper Dean Barker says the new cats complete the team’s development arsenal.

'The AC45 has been dismantled, packed into containers for shipping by Maersk Line to Portugal where the first pre-regatta of the 34th America’s Cup will be held starting on August 6.

'We have had a good long summer and autumn on the AC45, but we won’t have any further access to it for crew development. We will sail it for a few days before each regatta and then go racing. It will be dismantled after each regatta and shipped to the next venue.'

The SL33 was designed by American firm Morelli Melvin which is also part of the Emirates Team New Zealand design team. The yachts were built by Hakes Marine of Wellington.



The team now has an impressive fleet of catamarans already sailing or being designed:

• A class: Three, single-handed 20ft catamarans used as a first step to get monohull sailors on to the water in catamarans.
• Extreme 40: Now on the Extreme Sailing Series circuit, this high-performance yacht is raced by Dean Barker and crew in regattas that feature fast-action fleet racing with hard lessons on quick-fire tactics and boat handling in very tight situations.
• AC45: The yacht that will be raced in America’s Cup pre-regattas, three this year and seven in 2012. This yacht has been packed in to 40ft containers and shipped to Europe by Maersk Line. The first regatta venue is Cascais, Portugal, starting on August 6.
• SL33: Two yachts, just launched, based at Auckland, used for crew training and as design test beds.
• On the drawing board: two AC72 catamarans, the 72ft wingsail cats that will race for the 34th America’s Cup in San Francisco in 2013. The team will build two, the first to be launched in July 2012.

Dell and Emirates Team New Zealand Partnership - Fact Sheet

The Partnership

• Emirates Team New Zealand has appointed Dell as an 'exclusive supplier' for its participation in the 34th America’s Cup match which be conducted in San Francisco in 2013. This includes the team’s participation in various preliminary regattas in 2011 – 2012 and the challenger section series in 2013.

• Dell will supply Emirates Team New Zealand with IT system design, hardware, software and implementation, along with web design and social media programme support functions. This is consistent with Dell’s commitment to providing a full range of solutions and services that increase the effectiveness and productivity of organisations across New Zealand and worldwide.

• The technology will help the Emirates Team New Zealand design team develop yachts for the world’s most competitive sailing event where design, innovation and technology are as important as sailing skill.

The Technology

• The boat will be designed in a high-performance computing cluster* featuring the power that the team’s designers and engineers need to design the boat for the Cup. With a long history of providing high-performance clusters, Dell and Emirates Team New Zealand believe this technology will give them the edge needed to outperform the competition.

The cluster includes Dell’s PowerEdge C servers and storage, software and a network optimised for high-performance computing clusters. A key feature of its architecture is power efficiency and ultra-density, giving it significant computing capability in a small footprint.

The technology comes from Dell’s Data Centre Solutions group out of Austin, Texas, which develops high-performance computing cluster and cloud platforms.

• As a leader in ruggedized** mobility solutions and workstations, Dell is able to provide ETNZ with technology that will withstand harsh conditions at sea.

• Dell will also provide infrastructure and services for ETNZ’s day-to-day IT functions, including a virtualisation environment, email, file and print, web services, database, and backup.

Social Media

• Beyond IT, Dell will help ETNZ develop and execute social media campaigns. Dell is a global frontrunner in this space and has used social media platforms for many years to communicate with customers.


*A cluster is a group of linked servers designed to provide optimum power and performance.
** Ruggedised solutions are specifically designed to reliably operate in harsh usage environments.