Processing time on supercomputer for sale

A vessel rendered on the Weta supercomputer by Warwick Yacht Design.

Scott Houston, the former information chief at Weta Digital, has taken on a new role - that of international salesman.

The commodity he is pushing is processing capacity on the supercomputer built by Weta to handle the special effects for the final movie of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Houston will next month be at Cebit in Germany, the world's biggest computer expo, touting the supercomputer to biotechnology customers.

"We're putting together a proposal designed around the needs of biotech customers including hosting of specific databases and applications that are of interest to them."

Houston said Telecom Networks International would provide high-speed data links between the supercomputer in Wellington and customers in Europe. "We will engage with all customers but specifically we're building a solution for European biotech."

The supercomputer has 1000 processors, some of which are in use by existing customers. Houston would not disclose how much spare capacity the machine had, saying further processors could be added to meet demand.

The New Zealand Supercomputer Centre was opened last September under the management of Telecom subsidiary Gen-i.

Existing customers include Urban Voyage and Warwick Yacht Design, which are using the processors to render designs for a 30m superyacht, a United States computer chip manufacturer and a Canadian biotech firm.