FMS can provide the following benefits to your application program and computing environment:

Solves Large Problems

A machine's architecture provides for a limited number of memory chips, which limits the maximum amount of memory which may be installed. This in turn limits the maximum problem size which can be solved using only memory for problem storage. FMS overcomes this limitation by storing the data on disk and transferring it to memory as required. The maximum problem size which may be solved with FMS is limited only by available disk space.

Reduces Hardware Cost

FMS reduces hardware costs in the following ways:
  1. Reduced memory requirements.
    FMS provides the option to store your problem data on disk instead of memory. While disk and memory prices continue to decrease, memory has remained 100 times more expensive than disk per unit of storage over the past 30 years. As processors become faster, problem sizes are increasing. Because matrix storage requirements increase as the square of the problem size, the cost of a memory-only solution can be prohibitive. FMS overlaps disk transfers with processing in a unique way which allows the solution to be completed as fast as if the entire data were stored only in memory. The amount of memory required by FMS for buffering is usually the minimum which can be configured in the machine.
  2. Processor efficiency.
    FMS operates the processors at the maximum efficiency possible. This means that more work is produced on each machine.
  3. Support for GPU processors
    GPUs offer an order of magnitude or more benefit in processing performance and power consumption over traditional processors. This is the result of the hundreds of multiplier-adder arithmetic units within each processor. The regularly ordered floating point operations performed by FMS are an ideal match for this type of architecture.
  4. Competitive hardware purchases.
    An optimized version of FMS is available on all major platforms. By using FMS benchmarks as part of your hardware selection criteria, a competitive environment is established where each vendor can demonstrate the full potential of their solution.

Reduces Development Time

FMS is prepackaged software that can easily be incorporated into your application, reducing development time, cost and risk.

Portabilty

An optimized version of FMS is available on all modern platforms. The interface between your application and FMS is platform-independent. This allows you to easily migrate your application between platforms.

Faster Job Completion

FMS operates each processor at the maximum speed possible. On machines with multiple processors, FMS automatically divides the work among the processors, operating them in parallel to reduce runtime.

Improves Accuracy

FMS makes high-resolution, nonlinear and three-dimensional analysis feasible by increasing performance and extending maximum problem size.

Improves System Performance

FMS eliminates page faults and reduces requirements for page and swap files.