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30-573: VPAC provided expert services, training and support in high-performance computing as well as professional research and development services in the application of advanced computing in the fields of engineering , geospatial , health , life sciences , astrophysical research and grid computing to over 800 researchers from universities and research institutes across Victoria , as well as its sister organisation in other states. VPAC specialists also provided HPC support to multinational vendors and their customers across Australia. VPAC worked together with

60-927: A multiprocessing system, all CPUs may be equal, or some may be reserved for special purposes. A combination of hardware and operating system software design considerations determine the symmetry (or lack thereof) in a given system. For example, hardware or software considerations may require that only one particular CPU respond to all hardware interrupts, whereas all other work in the system may be distributed equally among CPUs; or execution of kernel-mode code may be restricted to only one particular CPU, whereas user-mode code may be executed in any combination of processors. Multiprocessing systems are often easier to design if such restrictions are imposed, but they tend to be less efficient than systems in which all CPUs are utilized. Systems that treat all CPUs equally are called symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) systems. In systems where all CPUs are not equal, system resources may be divided in

90-411: A multiprocessor is a computer system having two or more processing units (multiple processors) each sharing main memory and peripherals, in order to simultaneously process programs. A 2009 textbook defined multiprocessor system similarly, but noting that the processors may share "some or all of the system’s memory and I/O facilities"; it also gave tightly coupled system as a synonymous term. At

120-423: A time-sharing system ). Multiprocessing however means true parallel execution of multiple processes using more than one processor. Multiprocessing doesn't necessarily mean that a single process or task uses more than one processor simultaneously; the term parallel processing is generally used to denote that scenario. Other authors prefer to refer to the operating system techniques as multiprogramming and reserve

150-466: A high speed communication system ( Gigabit Ethernet is common). A Linux Beowulf cluster is an example of a loosely coupled system. Tightly coupled systems perform better and are physically smaller than loosely coupled systems, but have historically required greater initial investments and may depreciate rapidly; nodes in a loosely coupled system are usually inexpensive commodity computers and can be recycled as independent machines upon retirement from

180-532: A master/slave multiprocessor system of microprocessors is the Tandy/Radio Shack TRS-80 Model 16 desktop computer which came out in February 1982 and ran the multi-user/multi-tasking Xenix operating system, Microsoft's version of UNIX (called TRS-XENIX). The Model 16 has two microprocessors: an 8-bit Zilog Z80 CPU running at 4 MHz, and a 16-bit Motorola 68000 CPU running at 6 MHz. When

210-498: A multidisciplinary field that combines digital electronics , computer architecture , system software , programming languages , algorithms and computational techniques. HPC technologies are the tools and systems used to implement and create high performance computing systems. Recently , HPC systems have shifted from supercomputing to computing clusters and grids . Because of the need of networking in clusters and grids, High Performance Computing Technologies are being promoted by

240-474: A number of ways, including asymmetric multiprocessing (ASMP), non-uniform memory access (NUMA) multiprocessing, and clustered multiprocessing. In a master/slave multiprocessor system, the master CPU is in control of the computer and the slave CPU(s) performs assigned tasks. The CPUs can be completely different in terms of speed and architecture. Some (or all) of the CPUs can share a common bus, each can also have

270-528: A private bus (for private resources), or they may be isolated except for a common communications pathway. Likewise, the CPUs can share common RAM and/or have private RAM that the other processor(s) cannot access. The roles of master and slave can change from one CPU to another. Two early examples of a mainframe master/slave multiprocessor are the Bull Gamma 60 and the Burroughs B5000 . An early example of

300-465: A single computer system . The term also refers to the ability of a system to support more than one processor or the ability to allocate tasks between them. There are many variations on this basic theme, and the definition of multiprocessing can vary with context, mostly as a function of how CPUs are defined ( multiple cores on one die , multiple dies in one package , multiple packages in one system unit , etc.). According to some on-line dictionaries,

330-548: A state of the art, internationally recognised Supercomputing Facility featuring High Performance Computing Clusters and Software, Advanced Visualisation and Collaboration Tools and Grid Resources, as well as provided consulting services and expertise for applications. High-performance computing High-performance computing ( HPC ) uses supercomputers and computer clusters to solve advanced computation problems. HPC integrates systems administration (including network and security knowledge) and parallel programming into

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360-542: The United States Department of Energy 's Los Alamos National Laboratory ) simulated the performance, safety, and reliability of nuclear weapons and certifies their functionality. TOP500 ranks the world's 500 fastest high-performance computers, as measured by the High Performance LINPACK (HPL) benchmark. Not all existing computers are ranked, either because they are ineligible (e.g., they cannot run

390-425: The operating system level, multiprocessing is sometimes used to refer to the execution of multiple concurrent processes in a system, with each process running on a separate CPU or core, as opposed to a single process at any one instant. When used with this definition, multiprocessing is sometimes contrasted with multitasking , which may use just a single processor but switch it in time slices between tasks (i.e.

420-461: The 68000 CPU. The Z-80 can be used to do other tasks. The earlier TRS-80 Model II , which was released in 1979, could also be considered a multiprocessor system as it had both a Z-80 CPU and an Intel 8021 microcontroller in the keyboard. The 8021 made the Model II the first desktop computer system with a separate detachable lightweight keyboard connected with by a single thin flexible wire, and likely

450-559: The HPL benchmark) or because their owners have not submitted an HPL score (e.g., because they do not wish the size of their system to become public information, for defense reasons). In addition, the use of the single LINPACK benchmark is controversial, in that no single measure can test all aspects of a high-performance computer. To help overcome the limitations of the LINPACK test, the U.S. government commissioned one of its originators, Jack Dongarra of

480-532: The ISC European Supercomputing Conference and again at a US Supercomputing Conference in November. Many ideas for the new wave of grid computing were originally borrowed from HPC. Traditionally, HPC has involved an on-premises infrastructure, investing in supercomputers or computer clusters. Over the last decade, cloud computing has grown in popularity for offering computer resources in

510-562: The University of Tennessee, to create a suite of benchmark tests that includes LINPACK and others, called the HPC Challenge benchmark suite. This evolving suite has been used in some HPC procurements, but, because it is not reducible to a single number, it has been unable to overcome the publicity advantage of the less useful TOP500 LINPACK test. The TOP500 list is updated twice a year, once in June at

540-691: The Victorian eResearch Strategic Initiative to promote the uptake of advanced computing in Australian scientific research and development, and the two organisations merged to form the V3 Alliance in 2013. V3 HPC operations, HPC support, and academic advanced computing initiatives were rolled into the Victorian universities and ceased operation as an independent entity in December 2015. VPAC's engineering arm worked with many major Australian and multinational companies in

570-656: The Xeon processors via a common pipe and the Opteron processors via independent pathways to the system RAM . Chip multiprocessors, also known as multi-core computing, involves more than one processor placed on a single chip and can be thought of the most extreme form of tightly coupled multiprocessing. Mainframe systems with multiple processors are often tightly coupled. Loosely coupled multiprocessor systems (often referred to as clusters ) are based on multiple standalone relatively low processor count commodity computers interconnected via

600-451: The building and testing of virtual prototypes ). HPC has also been applied to business uses such as data warehouses , line of business (LOB) applications, and transaction processing . High-performance computing (HPC) as a term arose after the term "supercomputing". HPC is sometimes used as a synonym for supercomputing; but, in other contexts, "supercomputer" is used to refer to a more powerful subset of "high-performance computers", and

630-511: The bus level. These CPUs may have access to a central shared memory (SMP or UMA ), or may participate in a memory hierarchy with both local and shared memory (SM)( NUMA ). The IBM p690 Regatta is an example of a high end SMP system. Intel Xeon processors dominated the multiprocessor market for business PCs and were the only major x86 option until the release of AMD 's Opteron range of processors in 2004. Both ranges of processors had their own onboard cache but provided access to shared memory;

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660-451: The cluster. Power consumption is also a consideration. Tightly coupled systems tend to be much more energy-efficient than clusters. This is because a considerable reduction in power consumption can be realized by designing components to work together from the beginning in tightly coupled systems, whereas loosely coupled systems use components that were not necessarily intended specifically for use in such systems. Loosely coupled systems have

690-432: The commercial sector regardless of their investment capabilities. Some characteristics like scalability and containerization also have raised interest in academia. However security in the cloud concerns such as data confidentiality are still considered when deciding between cloud or on-premise HPC resources. Multiprocessing Multiprocessing is the use of two or more central processing units (CPUs) within

720-517: The existing tools do not address the needs of the high performance computing community or the HPC community is unaware of these tools. A few examples of commercial HPC technologies include: In government and research institutions, scientists simulate galaxy creation, fusion energy, and global warming, as well as work to create more accurate short- and long-term weather forecasts. The world's tenth most powerful supercomputer in 2008, IBM Roadrunner (located at

750-741: The first keyboard to use a dedicated microcontroller, both attributes that would later be copied years later by Apple and IBM. In multiprocessing, the processors can be used to execute a single sequence of instructions in multiple contexts ( single instruction, multiple data or SIMD, often used in vector processing ), multiple sequences of instructions in a single context ( multiple instruction, single data or MISD, used for redundancy in fail-safe systems and sometimes applied to describe pipelined processors or hyper-threading ), or multiple sequences of instructions in multiple contexts ( multiple instruction, multiple data or MIMD). Tightly coupled multiprocessor systems contain multiple CPUs that are connected at

780-538: The optimisation and refinement of products through the use of HPC, and that group continues business as VPAC-Innovations. In 2011, it was announced that VPAC, Monash University and Australian Synchrotron had chosen an IBM iDataPlex dx360 M3 for the Multi-modal Australian Sciences Imaging and Visualisation Environment (MASSIVE) facility. VPACs mission was to promote the use of Advanced Computing amongst Australian researchers. VPAC operated

810-494: The system is booted, the Z-80 is the master and the Xenix boot process initializes the slave 68000, and then transfers control to the 68000, whereupon the CPUs change roles and the Z-80 becomes a slave processor responsible for all I/O operations including disk, communications, printer and network, as well as the keyboard and integrated monitor, while the operating system and applications run on

840-489: The term multiprocessing for the hardware aspect of having more than one processor. The remainder of this article discusses multiprocessing only in this hardware sense. In Flynn's taxonomy , multiprocessors as defined above are MIMD machines. As the term "multiprocessor" normally refers to tightly coupled systems in which all processors share memory, multiprocessors are not the entire class of MIMD machines, which also contains message passing multicomputer systems. In

870-506: The term "supercomputing" becomes a subset of "high-performance computing". The potential for confusion over the use of these terms is apparent. Because most current applications are not designed for HPC technologies but are retrofitted, they are not designed or tested for scaling to more powerful processors or machines. Since networking clusters and grids use multiple processors and computers, these scaling problems can cripple critical systems in future supercomputing systems. Therefore, either

900-482: The use of a collapsed network backbone , because the collapsed backbone architecture is simple to troubleshoot and upgrades can be applied to a single router as opposed to multiple ones. The term is most commonly associated with computing used for scientific research or computational science . A related term, high-performance technical computing (HPTC), generally refers to the engineering applications of cluster-based computing (such as computational fluid dynamics and

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