A programmable HIPPI interface for a graphics supercomputer

• Published in: Proceedings of the 1993 ACM/IEEE conference on Supercomputing pp. 124 - 132
• Main Authors: Singh, R. K., Tell, S. G., Bharrat, S. J., Becker, D., Chi, V. L.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY, USA ACM 01.12.1993; IEEE
• Series: ACM Conferences
• Subjects: Applied computing > Life and medical sciences > Consumer health; Applied computing > Life and medical sciences > Health informatics; Asynchronous transfer mode; Backplanes; Computer graphics; Computer networks; Computer systems organization > Architectures > Distributed architectures > Grid computing; Computer systems organization > Architectures > Parallel architectures > Multicore architectures; Computer systems organization > Architectures > Serial architectures > Superscalar architectures; Computing methodologies > Modeling and simulation > Simulation types and techniques > Massively parallel and high-performance simulations; General and reference > Cross-computing tools and techniques > Performance; Hardware; Hardware > Communication hardware, interfaces and storage > Buses and high-speed links; Hardware > Integrated circuits > Semiconductor memory; Metacomputing; Microprogramming; Network interfaces; Protocols; Software and its engineering > Software organization and properties > Software system structures > Distributed systems organizing principles > Grid computing; Supercomputers
• ISBN: 0818643404; 9780818643408
• ISSN: 1063-9535
• DOI: 10.1145/169627.169669

As networks approach gigabit performance, supercomputer host interfaces are becoming the communication bottleneck. The Network Interface Unit (NIU) is a high-performance host interface for Pixel Planes 5, a custom graphics supercomputer. The design offers both performance and programmability through a balance of data-marshaling hardware and an embedded processor. The authors describe the NIU hardware and firmware architecture. They present some preliminary performance measurements and assess the applicability of this design for the targeted environment. They also comment on its suitability for other environments and outline plans for the future work.