Basic HTML version of Foils prepared 23 August 1998

Foil 25 Parallel Computers -- Classic Overview

From CPS615-Introduction-Course,Driving Technology and HPCC Current Status and Futures CPS615 Basic Simulation Track for Computational Science -- Fall Semester 98. by Geoffrey C. Fox, (Some Culler, Koelbel material)
1 Parallel computers allow several CPUs to contribute to a computation simultaneously and different architectures take different steps to enable this coordinated action.
2 For our purposes, a parallel computer has three types of parts:
  • Processors
  • Memory modules
  • Communication / synchronization network
3 Some Key points: Easier in Some Architectures/Applications than others!
  • All processors must be busy for peak speed.
  • Local memory is directly connected to each processor.
  • Accessing local memory is much faster than other memory.
  • Synchronization is expensive, but necessary for correctness.
4 Colors Used in Following pictures
in Table To:

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