Berkeley Cluster Projects

1
Berkeley Cluster Projects

• David E. Culler
• culler_at_cs.berkeley.edu
• http//now.cs.berkeley.edu/
• 11/23, 1998

2
Goals

• Make a fundamental change in how we design and
  construct large-scale systems
• market reality
• 50/year performance growth gt cannot allow 1-2
  year engineering lag
• technological opportunity
• single-chip Killer Switch gt fast, scalable
  communication
• Highly integrated building-wide, campus-wide
  systems
• Explore novel system design concepts in this new
  cluster paradigm

3
100 node Ultra/Myrinet NOW
4
Fast Communication Challenge
Killer Platform
  
ns
ms
µs
Killer Switch

• Fast processors and fast networks
• The time is spent in crossing between them

5
Opening Intelligent Network Interfaces

• Dedicated Processing power and storage embedded
  in the Network Interface
• An I/O card today
• Tomorrow on chip?

Mryicom Net
160 MB/s
Myricom NIC
M
M
I/O bus (S-Bus) 50 MB/s
M
M

M



Sun Ultra 170

6
NOW System Architecture
Parallel Apps
Large Seq. Apps
Sockets, Split-C, MPI, HPF, vSM
Global Layer UNIX
Process Migration
Distributed Files
Network RAM
Resource Management
UNIX Workstation
UNIX Workstation
UNIX Workstation
UNIX Workstation
Comm. SW
Comm. SW
Comm. SW
Comm. SW
Net Inter. HW
Net Inter. HW
Net Inter. HW
Net Inter. HW
Fast Commercial Switch (Myrinet)
7
Communication Performance ? Direct Network
Access
Latency
1/BW

• LogP Latency, Overhead, and Bandwidth
• Active Messages lean layer supporting
  programming models

8
World-Record Disk-to-Disk Sort

• Sustain 500 MB/s disk bandwidth and 1,000 MB/s
  network bandwidth

9
Massive Cheap Storage

• Basic unit
• 2 PCs double-ending four SCSI chains

Currently serving Fine Art at http//www.thinker.o
rg/imagebase/
10
Cluster of SMPs (CLUMPS)

• Four Sun E5000s
• 8 processors
• 3 Myricom NICs
• Multiprocessor, Multi-NIC, Multi-Protocol

11
Information Servers

• Basic Storage Unit
• Ultra 2, 300 GB raid, 800 GB tape stacker, ATM
• scalable backup/restore
• Dedicated Info Servers
• web,
• security,
• mail,
• VLANs project into dept.

12
Millennium Computational Community
Business
SIMS
BMRC
Chemistry
C.S.
E.E.
Biology
Gigabit Ethernet
Astro
NERSC
M.E.
Physics
N.E.
Math
IEOR
Transport
Economy
C. E.
MSME
13
Millennium PC Clumps

• Inexpensive, easy to manage Cluster
• Replicated in many departments
• Prototype for very large PC cluster

14
Proactive Infrastructure
Information appliances
Stationary desktops
Scalable Servers