IBM Kittyhawk
Encyclopedia
Kittyhawk is a new theoretical IBM
supercomputer
. The proposed project entails constructing a global-scale shared supercomputer
capable of hosting
the entire Internet
on one platform
as an application
, whereas the current Internet is a collection of interconnected computer networks.
In 2010 IBM open sourced the Linux kernel patches that allow otherwise unmodified Linux distributions to run on Blue Gene/P. This action allowed the Kittyhawk system software stack to be run at large scale at Argonne National Lab. The open source version of Kittyhawk is available on a public website hosted by Boston University.
detailing the project. The Kittyhawk will be based on the previously developed IBM supercomputer called Blue Gene/P
. In theory the Kittyhawk will have up to 16,384 racks, providing a maximum of 67.1 million cores
with 32 PB
(32 PiB
) of memory.
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
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...
. The proposed project entails constructing a global-scale shared 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...
capable of hosting
Host (network)
A network host is a computer connected to a computer network. A network host may offer information resources, services, and applications to users or other nodes on the network. A network host is a network node that is assigned a network layer host address....
the entire Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
on one platform
Platform (computing)
A computing platform includes some sort of hardware architecture and a software framework , where the combination allows software, particularly application software, to run...
as an application
Application software
Application software, also known as an application or an "app", is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with...
, whereas the current Internet is a collection of interconnected computer networks.
In 2010 IBM open sourced the Linux kernel patches that allow otherwise unmodified Linux distributions to run on Blue Gene/P. This action allowed the Kittyhawk system software stack to be run at large scale at Argonne National Lab. The open source version of Kittyhawk is available on a public website hosted by Boston University.
Specifications
IBM has prepared a white paperWhite paper
A white paper is an authoritative report or guide that helps solve a problem. White papers are used to educate readers and help people make decisions, and are often requested and used in politics, policy, business, and technical fields. In commercial use, the term has also come to refer to...
detailing the project. The Kittyhawk will be based on the previously developed IBM supercomputer called Blue Gene/P
Blue Gene
Blue Gene is a computer architecture project to produce several supercomputers, designed to reach operating speeds in the PFLOPS range, and currently reaching sustained speeds of nearly 500 TFLOPS . It is a cooperative project among IBM Blue Gene is a computer architecture project to produce...
. In theory the Kittyhawk will have up to 16,384 racks, providing a maximum of 67.1 million cores
Semiconductor intellectual property core
In electronic design a semiconductor intellectual property core, IP core, or IP block is a reusable unit of logic, cell, or chip layout design that is the intellectual property of one party. IP cores may be licensed to another party or can be owned and used by a single party alone...
with 32 PB
Petabyte
A petabyte is a unit of information equal to one quadrillion bytes, or 1000 terabytes. The unit symbol for the petabyte is PB...
(32 PiB
Pebibyte
The pebibyte is a standards-based binary multiple of the byte, a unit of digital information storage. The pebibyte unit symbol is PiB....
) of memory.
See also
External links
- Current Kittyhawk Homepage (Boston University)
- Kittyhawk - IBM homepage
- Towards a Global Scale Public Computer — lecture given by IBM Engineer, Jonathan Appavoo at Stanford UniversityStanford UniversityThe Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
(video archive).