MSC/NASTRAN Versions 68.2 and 69 available for Silicon Graphics servers and Cray Research supercomputers.

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 11, 1996--The MacNeal- Schwendler Corp. (NYSE:MNS) (MSC), Silicon Graphics and its supercomputing subsidiary Cray Research Monday announced the availability of MSC/NASTRAN Version 69 and Version 68.2 for Silicon Graphics servers and Cray Research supercomputers.

The enhanced versions of MSC/NASTRAN contain features available only on Cray Research platforms, reducing memory usage, which is especially important to all three companies' automotive and other large-scale customers.

MSC/NASTRAN Version 68.2 is currently running on CRAY J90 and CRAY T90 platforms and is now also available on the IEEE floating point version of the CRAY T90.

Version 68.2 on the IEEE CRAY T90 is the first full 64-bit implementation of MSC/NASTRAN. It eliminates file size and memory limits, an attractive feature for MSC and Cray Research customers in the auto industry who require the highest levels of performance for their large-scale automotive design and manufacturing problems.

Both Versions 69 and 68.2 are also available on the entire Silicon Graphics Origin product line, including the CRAY Origin2000 supercomputer, which is available with 65 to 128 processors. The Origin series features the new S2MP architecture, which is busless and designed to create modular and scalable shared memory systems that scale to 128 processors.

The enhanced performance of these MSC/NASTRAN versions run across the full line of Origin systems because the entire Origin line is binary-compatible from the CRAY Origin2000 on down to the new 02 workstations and Indigo2 IMPACT 10000 workstations.

Version 69 includes a feature exclusively for Cray Research platforms that can reduce turnaround time for customers running MSC/NASTRAN to find the normal modes of a structure.

Version 69 also reduces, by an average of 40 percent, the amount of memory required to run large dynamic models. This has been accomplished with no increase in CPU or elapsed time. For example, the memory required for one powertrain model with 1.9 million degrees of freedom has been reduced from 170 million words to 50 million words.

Version 69 of MSC/NASTRAN is now available for use on all the Cray floating point machines, and an IEEE version is set to be released later this year.

``The reason that MSC/NASTRAN has maintained its position as a state-of-the-art structural-analysis system is that it is continuously being improved,'' said Mike Booth, vice president of software and applications for Cray Research.

``The partnership between MSC and Cray has evolved much in the same way. Cray and MSC have continually worked together to provide the high-end, large-scale Cray users with features not available on other computer vendors' platforms.

``Ambitious collaboration has also been taking place between MSC and SGI. Now we are able to offer customers the combined results of our efforts and expertise, demonstrating again our leadership in high-performance technical computing.''

``Version 69 includes significant performance improvements thanks to the MSC, Silicon Graphics and Cray Research technical staffs working closely together,'' said Nima Bakhtiary, MSC's director of product management.

``There have been performance improvements across all the solution disciplines in MSC/NASTRAN Version 69, ranging up to 100 percent, depending on the model and solution sequence. With Version 69 memory reduction, our customers can run more large jobs, while at the same time increasing their CAE throughput.

``More importantly, reduced memory requirements and performance improvements enables them to solve problems that have previously been impossible to consider.''

``The big advance for us is an MSC/NASTRAN feature for extraction of normal modes, which is available only on Cray Research platforms,'' said Booth. ``The frequency range of interest is divided into independent segments, and multiple processors can work through the segments in parallel.

``While this method increases both the memory requirements and the already-intensive I/O requirements, we have several examples where the elapsed time for the total job has been reduced, so customers can work more quickly and efficiently.''

The MacNeal-Schwendler Corp. is the world's leading supplier of mechanical computer-aided engineering (MCAE) solutions. MSC provides software, services and strategies by partnering with customers to increase the performance of their structural designs.

MSC's solutions have played a key role in the design of virtually every major automobile, aircraft and space vehicle developed in the past decade. MSC solutions are provided by offices throughout North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. For more information about MSC, visit Web site http://www.macsch.com.

Silicon Graphics is a leading supplier of high-performance interactive computing systems. The company offers the broadest range of products in the industry -- from low-end desktop workstations to servers and high-end Cray supercomputers.

Silicon Graphics also markets MIPS, microprocessor designs, Alias/Wavefront entertainment and design software and other software products. The company's key markets include the manufacturing, government, science and industries, telecommunications and entertainment sectors. Silicon Graphics and its subsidiaries have offices throughout the world and headquarters in Mountain View, Calif.

Cray Research (Eagan, Minn.), a wholly owned subsidiary of Silicon Graphics, provides the leading supercomputing tools and services to help solve customers' most challenging problems. -0-

NOTE TO EDITORS: Silicon Graphics and the Silicon Graphics logo are registered trademarks and 02, Indigo2 IMPACT, S2MP and Origin2000 are trademarks of Silicon Graphics Inc. Cray is a registered trademark and CRAY T90 and CRAY J90 are trademarks of Cray Research. MIPS is a registered trademark of Mips Technologies Inc. NASTRAN is a registered trademark of NASA. MSC, MSC/, MSC/DYTRAN, PATRAN and ARIES are registered trademarks of The MacNeal-Schwendler Corp. MSC/NASTRAN is a trademark of The MacNeal-Schwendler Corp. All other trademarks are the property of their registered owners.

CONTACT: The MacNeal-Schwendler Corp.

Kenn Morris, 213/259-3830

or

Cray Research

Mardi Larson, 612/683-3538