Chapter 2 Computer Clusters

Lecture 2.2 Computer Cluster Architectures

• We will first discuss basic, small-scale PC or server clusters.

• Then we will discuss how to construct large-scale clusters

Basic Cluster Architecture

Large Cluster Architecutres

• In building large-scale clusters, cluster nodes are classified into two categories: compute nodes and service nodes. – Compute nodes appear in larger quantities mainly used for

largescale searching or parallel floating-point computations. – Service nodes could be built with different processors mainly

used to handle I/O, file access, and system monitoring. • For MPP clusters, the compute nodes dominate in

system cost, because we may have 1,000 times more compute nodes than service nodes in a single large clustered system.

• MPP Cluster Compute node architecture– Homegeneous design– Hybrid node design

• Example MPP Cluster Architecture – IBM Blue Gene/L System

• Hardware, Software, and Middleware Support for Large Scale Clusters

Chapter 2 Computer Clusters

Lecture 2.3 Cluster System Interconnects

High-Bandwidth Interconnect Technologies

• Compare four interconnect technologies

Interconnect Example: Google Search Engine Cluster

InfiniBand Architecture