Need Help Putting Computer Together?

[kokopup]

While I'm sure they have developed a great cluster for doing campus computing task I am at a loss as to how this can be called a supercomputer that works as a one big machine. Unless these guys have developed some super optical data bus I don't know how they can harness all or those processors in a parallel fashion to harness the computing power of all those processors. All those processors need a lot of databus bandwidth

[Hellow]

A lot of hot pockets, that can be sure.

While I'm sure they have developed a great cluster for doing campus computing task I am at a loss as to how this can be called a supercomputer that works as a one big machine. Unless these guys have developed some super optical data bus I don't know how they can harness all or those processors in a parallel fashion to harness the computing power of all those processors. All those processors need a lot of databus bandwidth

Clustering software can split work up between the independent machines, making them all function as one big computer. Most of the software for Linux/*nix computers is free, search for "Open Source clustering software", you are sure to find a lot on that topic.

[Lady's Human]

Koko,

The USPS has a small distributed processing setup in every mail processing plant for image processing made up of 20-200 pizza boxes, each box being a quad core linux box with a master parceling out work based on response time and load monitoring. They communicate through a gigabit copper network.

Required result response time back to the originating sorting platform is 320 ms, and the system meets that mark 95-96% of the time. Our site is tiny, it's only set up to process about 150,000 images per hour. It's amazing what distributed processing can accomplish.

[kokopup]

I'm well aware of the work that can be accomplished by distributed computer systems and clusters. I worked for GE Engineering Services for 25 years and we had a computer system called the DMC ( distributed Micro Computer) We had Hundreds of these all sharing work over a reflective memory network with Vax computer clusters suppling man machine interface and recipes. By your definition these would be supercomputers. These would be capacity computers or quasi-supercomputers.

My problems is the use of the term Supercomputer to describe a cluster of independent computers preforming complex task. These are Quasi-Supercomputers and do not come close to the true computing power of a true supercomputer that is a Capability computer manufactured by the likes of Cray, IBM, or HP. I guess the word Supercomputer is a little over worked in todays world because even Google uses a quasi-supercomputer for their search engine. I may be a little sensitive about this subject because I have worked around a
true Supercomputer and the one described in this writeup does not meet my criteria. Compared to some of the computers I have worked with, the PC I am posting with is a Supercomputer.

[lizbud]

Here's a description of the old & the new Supercomputors being used
today.

http://www.purdue.edu/uns/x/2008a/08...ySICortex.html

[kokopup]

While there is nothing new about the push for Green everything, Sometimes the added cost is hard to justify. The link below speaks for it's self.

The type of Computing offered by sicortex was more the quasi_supercomputer used for the information systems type of servers.

You might find this link of interest.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10250960-54.html