Cray CX1
Encyclopedia
The Cray CX1 is a deskside high-performance
workstation
designed by Cray Inc.
, based on the x86-64
processor architecture. It was launched on September 16, 2008. It comprises a single chassis blade server
design that supports a maximum of eight modular single-width blades, giving up to 96 processor cores. Computational load can be run independently on each blade and/or combined using clustering
techniques.
Currently, blade options include a dual-processor Intel Xeon
X33x0 module with DDR3 SDRAM
(PC3-8500), dual-processor Intel Xeon E54xx module with DDR2 SDRAM
(PC2-6400), a dual-processor Nvidia Quadro
FX 4600 GPU/video module, and several dual-processor-driven RAID
storage modules. The blade interconnect options are Gigabit Ethernet
and Infiniband
.
are fundamentally different architectures, and due to their differences, XT5 blades may not be used in place of CX1 blades, and vice versa. To compare the two:
High-performance computing
High-performance computing uses supercomputers and computer clusters to solve advanced computation problems. Today, computer systems approaching the teraflops-region are counted as HPC-computers.-Overview:...
workstation
Workstation
A workstation is a high-end microcomputer designed for technical or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by one person at a time, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems...
designed by Cray Inc.
Cray
Cray Inc. is an American supercomputer manufacturer based in Seattle, Washington. The company's predecessor, Cray Research, Inc. , was founded in 1972 by computer designer Seymour Cray. Seymour Cray went on to form the spin-off Cray Computer Corporation , in 1989, which went bankrupt in 1995,...
, based on the x86-64
X86-64
x86-64 is an extension of the x86 instruction set. It supports vastly larger virtual and physical address spaces than are possible on x86, thereby allowing programmers to conveniently work with much larger data sets. x86-64 also provides 64-bit general purpose registers and numerous other...
processor architecture. It was launched on September 16, 2008. It comprises a single chassis blade server
Blade server
A blade server is a stripped down server computer with a modular design optimized to minimize the use of physical space and energy. Whereas a standard rack-mount server can function with a power cord and network cable, blade servers have many components removed to save space, minimize power...
design that supports a maximum of eight modular single-width blades, giving up to 96 processor cores. Computational load can be run independently on each blade and/or combined using clustering
Cluster (computing)
A computer cluster is a group of linked computers, working together closely thus in many respects forming a single computer. The components of a cluster are commonly, but not always, connected to each other through fast local area networks...
techniques.
Currently, blade options include a dual-processor Intel Xeon
Xeon
The Xeon is a brand of multiprocessing- or multi-socket-capable x86 microprocessors from Intel Corporation targeted at the non-consumer server, workstation and embedded system markets.-Overview:...
X33x0 module with DDR3 SDRAM
DDR3 SDRAM
In computing, DDR3 SDRAM, an abbreviation for double data rate type three synchronous dynamic random access memory, is a modern kind of dynamic random access memory with a high bandwidth interface. It is one of several variants of DRAM and associated interface techniques used since the early 1970s...
(PC3-8500), dual-processor Intel Xeon E54xx module with DDR2 SDRAM
DDR2 SDRAM
DDR2 SDRAM is a double data rate synchronous dynamic random-access memory interface. It supersedes the original DDR SDRAM specification and has itself been superseded by DDR3 SDRAM...
(PC2-6400), a dual-processor Nvidia Quadro
NVIDIA Quadro
The Nvidia Quadro series of AGP, PCI, and PCI Express graphics cards comes from the NVIDIA Corporation. Their designers aimed to accelerate CAD and DCC , and the cards are usually featured in workstations....
FX 4600 GPU/video module, and several dual-processor-driven RAID
RAID
RAID is a storage technology that combines multiple disk drive components into a logical unit...
storage modules. The blade interconnect options are Gigabit Ethernet
Gigabit Ethernet
Gigabit Ethernet is a term describing various technologies for transmitting Ethernet frames at a rate of a gigabit per second , as defined by the IEEE 802.3-2008 standard. It came into use beginning in 1999, gradually supplanting Fast Ethernet in wired local networks where it performed...
and Infiniband
InfiniBand
InfiniBand is a switched fabric communications link used in high-performance computing and enterprise data centers. Its features include high throughput, low latency, quality of service and failover, and it is designed to be scalable...
.
Comparison with Cray XT5h
The CX1 and XT5hCray XT5
The Cray XT5 is an updated version of the Cray XT4 supercomputer, launched on November 6, 2007. It includes a faster version of the XT4's SeaStar2 interconnect router called SeaStar2+, and can be configured either with XT4 compute blades, which have four dual-core AMD Opteron processor sockets, or...
are fundamentally different architectures, and due to their differences, XT5 blades may not be used in place of CX1 blades, and vice versa. To compare the two:
- An XT5h supercomputer supports vectorVector processorA 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...
, FPGA, and scalarScalar processorScalar processors represent the simplest class of computer processors. A scalar processor processes one datum at a time . , a scalar processor is classified as a SISD processor .In a vector processor, by contrast, a single instruction operates simultaneously on multiple data items...
compute blades (X2Cray X2The Cray X2 is a vector processing node for the Cray XT5h supercomputer, developed and sold by Cray Inc. and launched in 2007.The X2, developed under the code name Black Widow, was originally expected to be a standalone supercomputer system, superseding the Cray X1 parallel vector supercomputer...
, XR1, and XT4/XT5 blades, respectively), typically supported by service blades for network access and hosting a Lustre filesystemLustre (file system)Lustre is a massively parallel distributed file system, generally used for large scale cluster computing. The name Lustre is a portmanteau word derived from Linux and cluster...
layered over several RAIDRAIDRAID is a storage technology that combines multiple disk drive components into a logical unit...
modules.- The XT5h's operating system is UNICOSUnicosUNICOS 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...
/lc, a combination of SUSE Linux Enterprise ServerSUSE Linux Enterprise ServerSUSE Linux Enterprise Server is a Linux distribution supplied by SUSE and targeted at the business market. It is targeted for servers, mainframes, and workstations but can be installed on desktop computers for testing as well. New major versions are released at an interval of 3-4 years, while...
and SandiaSandia National LaboratoriesThe Sandia National Laboratories, managed and operated by the Sandia Corporation , are two major United States Department of Energy research and development national laboratories....
's Catamount or Cray's Compute Node LinuxCompute Node LinuxCompute Node Linux is a runtime environment based on the Linux kernel for the Cray XT3, Cray XT4, Cray XT5, Cray XT6, and Cray XE6 supercomputer systems based on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. CNL forms part of the UNICOS/lc operating system from release 2.0 onwards...
.
- The XT5h's operating system is UNICOS
- A CX1 supercomputer supports GPU and scalar compute blades (Nvidia Quadro and Intel Xeon, respectively), typically supported by enclosed network switches (Gigabit EthernetGigabit EthernetGigabit Ethernet is a term describing various technologies for transmitting Ethernet frames at a rate of a gigabit per second , as defined by the IEEE 802.3-2008 standard. It came into use beginning in 1999, gradually supplanting Fast Ethernet in wired local networks where it performed...
, InfinibandInfiniBandInfiniBand is a switched fabric communications link used in high-performance computing and enterprise data centers. Its features include high throughput, low latency, quality of service and failover, and it is designed to be scalable...
) and service blades hosting RAID modules.- CX1-supported operating systems include Red Hat Enterprise LinuxRed Hat Enterprise LinuxRed Hat Enterprise Linux is a Linux-based operating system developed by Red Hat and targeted toward the commercial market. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is released in server versions for x86, x86-64, Itanium, PowerPC and IBM System z, and desktop versions for x86 and x86-64...
and Windows HPC Server 2008Windows HPC Server 2008Windows HPC Server 2008, released by Microsoft on 22 September 2008, is the successor product to Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003. Like WCCS, Windows HPC Server 2008 is designed for high-end applications that require high performance computing clusters . This version of the server software is...
.
- CX1-supported operating systems include Red Hat Enterprise Linux