1. Alternative Processor Panel Results 2008
HPC User Forum
Alternative Processor Panel Results 2008
Alternative Processors
HPC User Forum Panel

2. Alternative Processors
Mainstream Processors
Multi-Core Direction
Single Thread Speeds
At Best Remain Constant
Most Probably Be Reduced
Improve Throughput
No Improvement for Time-to-Solution
Application Re-Write Requirements
Alternative Processors
HPC User Forum Panel

3. Alternative Processors
Tough Scientific and Engineering Problems
Not all Can Utilize Parallel Processing
Require Raw Compute Speed Improvement
Will not Get this from Future Mainstream Processors
Alternative Processors
HPC User Forum Panel

4. Alternative Processors
Alternatives:
FPGAs
GPUs
Possible Performance Improvement
Utilized via Hybrid Configuration
Programmability Issues
Some Also Apply to Mainstream Multi-Core Processors
Alternative Processors
HPC User Forum Panel

5. Alternative Processors
FPGAs
Native Environment is Analog Computing
Star Bridge Viva is an example
Complicated and Esoteric
Some Success with Significant Programming Investment
Alternative Processors
HPC User Forum Panel

6. Alternative Processors
GPUs
Limited; Designed for Visualization
Optimized for Games
Some Vector Capability
Integer
Low Precision Floating-Point
Cell Processor
New Addition of High Precision Floating-Point
Alternative Processors
HPC User Forum Panel

7. Alternative Processors
Hybrid Configurations
Multiple Processor Types in a Somewhat Integrated Environment
Can Provide an Evolutionary Path when a Mainstream Processor is included
Additional Complexity Introduced
Alternative Processors
HPC User Forum Panel

8. Alternative Processors
Programming Environment
Already too Complex
Application Parallelization Awkward
MPI is the most Prevalent Mechanism
Multi-Core increases this Complexity
Hybrid Configurations add Complexity
Need Abstraction Support
Compilers
Run Time
Alternative Processors
HPC User Forum Panel

9. Alternative Processors
Abstraction
Return of Vectors is encouraging
Well understood by the HPC community
Good Fortran Vector support in classical Cray Compiler
Hardware Addressing Support for Global Memory
Necessary for making these new machines manageable
Alternative Processors
HPC User Forum Panel

10. Alternative Processors
Conclusion
Potential for Significant Contribution to HPC
Requires a Simplification of the Programming Environment
Compensate for Increased Complexity while delivering underlying Hardware Capability
Support Legacy Code
Provide for a Smooth Evolution
Alternative Processors
HPC User Forum Panel