17 Dec
2007
17 Dec
'07
8:46 a.m.
On Dec 17, 2007, at 11:16 AM, Sridhar Ayengar wrote:
Do these humongous configurations run a single OS image? If so, cool!
Yup, single image. The O2K you got from me has eight
processors...if you get another chassis just like it and link them
together with CrayLink cables, it'll be one machine with sixteen
processors, transparently.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL
Farewell Ophelia, 9/22/1991 - 7/25/2007
OK, we talked earlier about how high this architecture
could go and
there was some mention of 256 and 512 processor systems. However, I
just stumbled across a press release at LANL describing their
installation of a massive 6144 processor system consisting of 48
sets
of 128 nodes all arranged as a giant supercomputer:
Above 128 processors you need a special "Cray" router. Above
either 512 or 1024 you'll probably need custom SGI setup, possibly
a custom IRIX. At any rate, 32 or 64 processors are pretty fast
(remember as you scale it's harder and harder to get parallel code
to run across all processors), and don't forget to factor in
electricity and cooling. Most hobbyists only run one or two racks.