CSC 456 Spring 2012/11b AB

Large-Scale Multiprocessors

Manufacturers

There are several different manufacturers of processors and cabinets that can be used in large-scale multiprocessor (LSM) configurations. For example, Fujitsu's K computer (the number one ranked supercomputer on TOP500's November 2011 list) uses a configuration of 88,128 SPARC64 VIIIfx processors. This means it has a total of 705,024 cores at its use<ref name="k computer"/>. Additional examples of processors used in LSMs can be found in Table 1.

Table 1: Processor Manufacturers

Manufacturer	Processor	Cores	Clock Rate	Architecture
Fujitsu	SPARC64 VIIIfx<ref name="fujitsu proc"/>	8	2.0 GHz	SPARC
Intel	Xeon 7500<ref name="intel proc"/>	8	1.733-2.667 GHz	Nehalem
IBM	POWER7<ref name="ibm proc"/>	8	2.4-4.25 GHz	Power ISA v.2.06
AMD	Opteron 6100<ref name="amd proc"/>	12	1.7-2.4 GHz	Direct Connect 2.0

Please add more info on these processors, e.g., tables for #s of cores, processor type, OS, etc. ... some of this should be available at top500.org.

Like processors, different manufacturers offer varying cabinet/server types. For example, IBM's BladeCenter HT includes their CoolBlue technology, a set of tools that allows the user to have greater control over cooling and power use.

Table 2: Cabinet Manufacturers

Manufacturer	Cabinet	Blade Count
SuperMicro	MP Superserver 8064B-TRLF<ref name="supermicro chassis"/>	4
HP	Integrity Superdome 2<ref name="hp chassis"/>	32
IBM	BladeCenter HT<ref name="ibm chassis"/>	12

The course contains nothing about cabinets yet, but it seems like an interesting area. Please explore the tradeoffs in cabinet design, and say who has chosen which design and why.

References

<references> <ref name="fujitsu proc">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPARC64_VIIIfx</ref> <ref name="intel proc">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeon#6500.2F7500-series_.22Beckton.22</ref> <ref name="ibm proc">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power7</ref> <ref name="amd proc">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opteron#Opteron_.2845_nm_SOI.29</ref> <ref name="supermicro chassis">http://www.supermicro.com/products/system/4U/8046/SYS-8046B-TRLF.cfm</ref> <ref name="hp chassis">http://h20341.www2.hp.com/integrity/us/en/high-end/integrity-high-end-servers-superdome2.html</ref> <ref name="ibm chassis">http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/bladecenter/hardware/chassis/bladeht/index.html</ref> <ref name="k computer">http://top500.org/lists/2011/11/press-release</ref> </references>