Beta 2 of Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 is being tested by Microsoft users in clusters as large as 128 nodes, all connected in a single system aimed at superfast problem solving.

Built on the 64-bit version of Windows Server 2003, the clustering edition is expected to be released by mid-2006, according to Kyril Faenov, director of high-performance computing with the Windows Server Group.

As it has done in the past with other software markets such as databases and CRM, Microsoft is expected to first target lower-end departmental and workgroup clustering by offering easier-to-use features and integration for companies already running Windows, said Laura DiDio, an analyst at Boston-based Yankee Group.

The first beta version of the software was released in September and is being tested by 1,600 companies and institutions, including the Seattle-based genetics research lab of Merck & Co. The drug company is just beginning to set up a cluster of 20 64-bit dual-processor machines, according to Eric Schadt, senior scientific director for genetics research.

Schadt's group now uses a 500-processor cluster running Linux on a variety of hardware to create simulations of gene networks and their behavior during drug treatments. Migrating to Windows Compute Cluster, he said, will save time because Merck does most of its prototyping and data mining in Windows.