RIA: Cost-effective Parallel Computing Platforms Based on SCI-connected Distributed Systems

本课题旨在研究SCI （Scalable Coherence Interface, IEEE Standard 1596）连接的个人工作站网络（NPW）的系统体系结构模型和系统软件支持。与传统的LAN-connected NPW不同，SCI- connected NPW可以在跨网络的工作站之间提供物理共享内存和缓存一致性，具有高带宽（1gb /秒）和低延迟（微秒）。该研究将提供对新型并行架构的理解，这种架构的突出特点是由于共享内存和缓存一致性而具有紧密耦合性质，而由于工作站之间的物理距离和工作站的独立操作而具有松散耦合性质。本研究将得出sci连接NPW的各种设计模型及其比较，支持这些架构的操作系统设计，以及基于典型并行应用程序的性能数据。其结果将是向廉价但强大且广泛可用的并行计算平台迈出的重要一步。研究工作分为三个步骤：(1)建立sci连接NPE的体系结构特征模型。(2)根据硬件和应用需求，设计并实现操作系统软件支持。系统级性能也将被研究。(3)设计并实现应用原型，获取性能数据。仿真将用于预测大型核反应堆的性能。＊＊＊

9410063 Li This proposal research is to study the system architectural model and system software support of network of personal workstations (NPW) connected by SCI (Scalable Coherence Interface, IEEE Standard 1596). Oppose to the traditional LAN-connected NPW, SCI- connected NPW can provide physically shared memory and cache coherence among workstations across a network with high bandwidth (1Gbyte/sec) and low latency (microseconds). The research will provide the understanding of the new parallel architecture which is highlighted by contradiction between its closely-coupled nature due to shared memory and cache coherence and its loosely- coupled nature due to the physical distance between workstations and independent operations of the workstations. This research will result in models of various designs of SCI-connected NPW and their comparisons, operating system designs to support such architectures, and performance data based on typical parallel applications. The result will be an important step towards inexpensive but powerful and widely available parallel computing platforms. The work will be done in three steps: (1) Model the architectural characteristics of SCI-connected NPE. (2) Design and implement operating system software supports based on the hardware and applications requirements. System level performance will also be studied. (3) Design and implement application prototypes to obtain performance data. Simulation will be used to predict the performance of large scale SCI-NPWs. ***