High Performance Systems Get Simpler

By Bill Nicholls

October 6, 2003

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High Performance Computer Systems (HPCS) have a long history. From the beginning of the special systems in the 1970s, such as the 360/95, 370/195 and the Cray 1, supercomputers have extended the envelope of current technology, usually at considerable expense and technical challenge. In the 1980s, "minisupers" arrived. That name was coined to describe minicomputer-like systems with very high performance for the dollar. They were slower than the fastest systems, but nevertheless supercomputers dropped below $1 million for the first time.

In the 1990s, this process seemed to be under a more rational process where advances in semiconductor technology plus some special engineering regularly created faster systems without the drama of the early models. The arrival of clusters—groups of microcomputers connected by high-speed networks running Linux—brought the cost below $100,000 for the first time. The supercomputer proliferation was under way.

By the late 1990s, it looked like evolution rather than revolution would continue to dominate the HPCS class. Faster microprocessors would arrive and be integrated into the next faster cluster or specially built supercomputer, and that would be it until the next microprocessor upgrade. This position was supported by a wide belief that "Moore's Law," more of an self-fulfilling observation than a true law, would guarantee faster supercomputers without any extra effort. It was a mirage.

By 2000, the mirage had disappeared. The first clue was the remarkable similarity in size and power between IBM's last 3000 series model from the 70s, a behemoth that required 1400 square feet of space, and one of their 1990s supercomputers for LANL which took up more than 3000 square feet. Right after those systems, later and faster systems suddenly got smaller again, and changed internally.

More clues appeared when IBM announced it was going to build a "Cell processor" for Sony's Playstation 3, and later announced a supercomputer named "The Blue Gene" built around a large number of Cell systems.

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