high performance computing, Topspin Infiniband

Q Associates - Network Appliance Info Centre - meeting image

Distributed Databases

Grid-To-Go

High-Performance Computing

Server Visualisation

Switched Computing

high performance computing, Topspin Infiniband from Q Associates, Topspin Communications reseller UK

Infiniband is the ideal high performance computing (hpc) interconnect and Topspin is the industry's leading vendor of infiniband clustering solutions.

Topspin InfiniBand Leadership:

OEM supplier to Dell, IBM, HP, NEC, RLX, Sun
Broadest HPC product portfolio
Proven scalability in production
Industry leading quality

InfiniBand Benefits:

Low latency - under 6 microseconds
Scalability to thousands of nodes
Highest bandwidth - over 800 MB/sec
Industry standard

Building Infiniband Clusters
Large and small HPC clusters are readily constructed using Topspin's non-blocking InfiniBand switches. Smaller clusters can be built using a single Topspin switch, while clusters with thousands of nodes can be built using multiple switches arranged in a two-tier configuration.

All of Topspin's HPC clusters leverage the capabilities of Topspin's open-source MPI package. HPC clusters may be supplemented with Topspin's Ethernet and Fibre Channel gateways to provide LAN and storage connectivity at reduced cost versus the traditional method of deploying Ethernet and Fibre Channel adapters, cables, and switch ports for each compute node.

Below are three common non-blocking HPC configurations with their associated hardware.

16-Node HPC Cluster: Topspin 120
1x	Topspin 120 24-port 4X InfiniBand Switch
16x	Topspin PCI-X InfiniBand Host Channel Adapter
16x	Topspin 3-meter 4X InfiniBand Cable
16x	Compute server

64-Node HPC Cluster: Topspin 270
1x	Topspin 270 96-port 4X InfiniBand Switch
64x	Topspin PCI-X InfiniBand Host Channel Adapter
64x	Topspin 3-meter 4X InfiniBand Cable
64x	Compute server

512-Node HPC Cluster: Topspin 270 (two switch tiers)
17x	Topspin 270 96-port 4X InfiniBand Switch
512x	Topspin PCI-X InfiniBand Host Channel Adapter
512x	Topspin 3-meter 4X InfiniBand Cable (server-switch links)
528x	Topspin 10-meter 4X InfiniBand Cable (inter-switch links)
512x	Compute servers

Related Information :

	InfiniBand for HPC: Understand why InfiniBand is the ideal interconnect for HPC clusters. PDF (71KB)		Topspin Benefits for HPC: Read more about Topspin’s valuable HPC story including unique cluster enhancements. PDF (77KB)
	HPC Cluster Management: Get details on how third-party HPC management software works over InfiniBand as well as Topspin’s easy-to-use GUI tools. PDF (851KB)		Host Drivers for HPC: Learn how MPI and IP traffic run transparently on an InfiniBand HPC cluster. PDF (265KB)
	InfiniBand Performance Study: See Ohio State University’s latency and bandwidth tests using MPI with Topspin and InfiniBand. PDF (625KB)

Home