Cray C90
Encyclopedia
The Cray C90 series was a vector processor
supercomputer
launched by Cray Research in 1991. The C90 was a development of the Cray Y-MP
architecture. Compared to the Y-MP, the C90 processor had a dual vector pipeline and a faster 4.1 ns clock cycle (244 MHz), which together gave three times the performance of the Y-MP processor. The maximum number of processors in a system was also doubled from eight to 16. The C90 series used the same Model E IOS (Input/Output Subsystem) and UNICOS
operating system
as the earlier Y-MP Model E.
The C90 series included the C94, C98 and C916 models (configurations with a maximum of four, eight, and 16 processor respectively) and the C92A and C94A (air-cooled models). Maximum SRAM memory was between 1 and 8 GB, depending on model.
The D92, D92A, D94 and D98 (also known as the C92D, C92AD, C94D and C98D respectively) variants were equipped with slower, but higher-density DRAM
memory, allowing increased maximum memory sizes of up to 16 GB, depending on the model.
The successor system was the Cray T90
.
Vector processor
A vector processor, or array processor, is a central processing unit that implements an instruction set containing instructions that operate on one-dimensional arrays of data called vectors. This is in contrast to a scalar processor, whose instructions operate on single data items...
supercomputer
Supercomputer
A supercomputer is a computer at the frontline of current processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation.Supercomputers are used for highly calculation-intensive tasks such as problems including quantum physics, weather forecasting, climate research, molecular modeling A supercomputer is a...
launched by Cray Research in 1991. The C90 was a development of the Cray Y-MP
Cray Y-MP
The Cray Y-MP was a supercomputer sold by Cray Research from 1988, and the successor to the company's X-MP. The Y-MP retained software compatibility with the X-MP, but extended the address registers from 24 to 32 bits. High-density VLSI ECL technology was used and a new liquid cooling system was...
architecture. Compared to the Y-MP, the C90 processor had a dual vector pipeline and a faster 4.1 ns clock cycle (244 MHz), which together gave three times the performance of the Y-MP processor. The maximum number of processors in a system was also doubled from eight to 16. The C90 series used the same Model E IOS (Input/Output Subsystem) and UNICOS
Unicos
UNICOS is the name of a range of Unix-like operating system variants developed by Cray for its supercomputers. UNICOS is the successor of the Cray Operating System . It provides network clustering and source code compatibility layers for some other Unixes. UNICOS was originally introduced in 1985...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
as the earlier Y-MP Model E.
The C90 series included the C94, C98 and C916 models (configurations with a maximum of four, eight, and 16 processor respectively) and the C92A and C94A (air-cooled models). Maximum SRAM memory was between 1 and 8 GB, depending on model.
The D92, D92A, D94 and D98 (also known as the C92D, C92AD, C94D and C98D respectively) variants were equipped with slower, but higher-density DRAM
Dram
Dram or DRAM may refer to:As a unit of measure:* Dram , an imperial unit of mass and volume* Armenian dram, a monetary unit* Dirham, a unit of currency in several Arab nationsOther uses:...
memory, allowing increased maximum memory sizes of up to 16 GB, depending on the model.
The successor system was the Cray T90
Cray T90
The Cray T90 series was the last of a line of vector processing supercomputers manufactured by Cray Research, Inc, superseding the Cray C90 series...
.