1. Berkeley Cluster Projects
David E. Culler
11/23, 1998 1

2. Goals
Make a fundamental change in how we design and construct large-scale systems
market reality:
50%/year performance growth => cannot allow 1-2 year engineering lag
technological opportunity:
single-chip “Killer Switch” => 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
Network
Interface
Hardware
Comm..
Software
Network
Interface
Hardware
Comm.
Software
Network
Interface
Hardware
Comm.
Software
Network
Interface
Hardware
Comm.
Software
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 P M M
I/O bus (S-Bus)
50 MB/s M M P $ M $ P $ $
Sun Ultra 170 $ P P P P 15

6. NOW System Architecture
Parallel Apps
Large Seq. Apps
Sockets, Split-C, MPI, HPF, vSM
Global Layer UNIX
Resource Management
Network RAM
Distributed Files
Process Migration
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) 14

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

10. Cluster of SMPs (CLUMPS)
Four Sun E5000s
8 processors
3 Myricom NICs
Multiprocessor, Multi-NIC, Multi-Protocol

11. Information Servers Basic Storage Unit: Dedicated Info Servers
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
SIMS
Business
BMRC
Chemistry
C.S.
E.E.
Biology
Gigabit Ethernet
Astro
NERSC
M.E.
Physics
N.E.
IEOR
Math
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