Cray T3E

The Cray T3E is a massively parallel multiprocessor computers with distributed memory ( distributed memory MIMD ), which was designed in the 90s by Cray and 1995 Cray T3D replaced the previous model. The T3E consisted of 8-2176 called Processing Elements ( PEs ), each consisting of a clocked with 300 MHz DEC Alpha 21164 ( EV5 ) microprocessor, between 64 MB and 2 GB of RAM and a 6 -way switch, which has a maximum bandwidth of 480MB/Sekunde decreed in both directions. Like the T3D PEs were connected so that they formed a three-dimensional torus body.

One of the biggest differences for T3D (and many other MPP systems) is that the T3E did not need any more host computers, and even under the UNICOS / mk operating system ran ( Meanwhile, individual servers were (like MACH ) running on different PEs ). The I / O subsystem, Cray 's " GigaRing ," the network, disk and tape I / O ready made ​​, has been integrated directly into the torus.

From T3E existed several versions:

• The original version, subsequently referred to as the T3E -600.
• The T3E -900, whose processors are clocked at 450 MHz,
• The T3E -1200 with 600 MHz processor clock,
• The T3E 1200E, wherein the speed of memory and the connections of the PEs have been improved,
• And the T3E -1350, with a processor clock was further increased to 675 MHz.

Starting with the T3E -900 was used for the PEs no longer 21164 ( EV5 ), but rather the faster 21164A ( EV56 ).

All versions were air-cooled ( "Air Cooled ", AC) and liquid cooled ( " Liquid Cooled ", LC ) are offered. Depending were 16 to 128 PEs (air cooled) or 64-2048 PEs (liquid-cooled ) are used.

A T3E was the first supercomputer that an output of over 1 TFLOPS reached during the execution of scientific applications; the application was executed in 1998 on a T3E -1200 with a configuration of 1480 PEs (see external link ).