| Machine type | RISC-based shared-memory multi-processor. |
|---|---|
| Models | PRIMEPOWER 800, 1000, 2000. |
| Operating system | Solaris (Sun's Unix variant). |
| Connection structure | Crossbar. |
| Compilers | Parallel Fortran 90, C, C++. |
| Vendors information web page: | http://primepower.fujitsu.com/en/index.html |
| Year of introduction | 2000. |
System parameters:
| Model | PRIMEPOWER 2000 |
|---|---|
| Clock cycle | 675 MHz |
| Theor. peak performance | |
| Per proc. (64-bits) | 1.35 Gflop/s |
| Maximal | 173 Gflop/s |
| Main memory | |
| Memory/node | <= 2 GB |
| Memory/maximal | <= 4 TB |
| No. of processors | 8--128 |
| Communication bandwidth | |
| point-to-point | --- |
Remarks:
We only discuss here the PRIMEPOWER 2000 as the smaller models have the same structure but less processors (maximally 16 in the 800 model and 32 in the 1000 model). In many respects this machine is akin to the SUN Fire 3800-15K. The processors are 64-bit Fujitsu implementations of SUN's SPARC processors, called SPARC 64 GP processors and they are completely compatible with the SUN products. The processors are available in a 563 MHz and a 675 MHz variant. Also the interconnection of the processors in the PRIMEPOWER systems is like the one in the Fire 3800-15K: a crossbar that connects all processors at the same footing, i.e., it is not a NUMA machine.
Unfortunately, there is no sound technical information available beyond the data sheets that are provided via Fujitsu's web site. These data sheets omit any information about the bandwidth of the interconnect be it point-to-point, bi-sectional, or aggregate. Judging from the available information the system is more positioned as a communication server than as a high performance computer while the structure is well suited for this kind of tasks.
Measured Performances:
Dongarra reports in [6] a performance
of 118 Gflop/s out of a maximum of 172.8 Gflop/s for solving a system of
order 116,480. This amounts to an efficiency of 68.3%.