Computer Species for Scientific Programming

• Superscalar workstation: not quite big and fast enough for all

• Cluster of workstations (COW): too expensive to scale up to MPP size

• Shared-memory parallel vector processor (PVP) [C90]: Great!
  • Static RAM means even gather/scatter operations are fast

  • Fairly large memory

  • Excellent optimizing compilers
    • Ten years development of good vectorizing compilers after introduction of first Cray

  • Just keep making them bigger and faster! (And cheaper!)

• Symmetric Multiprocessor (SMP) with superscalar CPUs: ???
  • Dynamic RAM means gather/scatter operations are slow

  • Fairly large memory

  • Starting on ten years of development of good caching compilers

• Distributed-memory massively parallel processor (MPP): "You must love it." [Apologies to George Orwell]
  • Really large memory

  • Starting now on developing any parallel compilers (HPF)

• Hierarchical machines (SMPs + fast network):??????

Generated with CERN WebMaker