MACKINNON%BACH@engvax.scg.hac.COM (GLENN MACKINNON) (09/30/87)
SUBJECT: What are VAX CPU mega-flop ratings?
Hello *.*
We are trying to plan new computer aquisitions for an engineering group. Their
main application packages are available for both UN*X platforms and VMS. They
are cpu intensive, mostly double-precision floating-point, and memory
requirements per process aren't particularly high, 1-2 mega-bytes. They're
concerned about cpu power. They estimate about .15-.2 megaflops required per
process based on experience and the application vendors' reccommendations for
optimal performance. They need the capability to run 5-10 processes
simultaneously (but not necessarily on the same processor ). We must be able to
expand and upgrade in a flexible manner as work load increases and
technological improvements come along and also be able make use of
vectorization and parallelism in the applications as they become available. My
thoughts lean towards a LAVC of the new CVAXes rather than a single larger
machine.
Our questions are:
1) What are the mega-flop ratings of the VAX cpus for single thread
applications? I've heard .17mf/uVAX-II, .88mf/VAX-8600 and 1.35mf/VAX-8800.
Are these about right? Will the CVAX-3xxx be around .5 mega-flops?
2) There's a CVAX-3602 which has 2 (two) KA650 cpus with 16 Mbytes of memory
each. Is this (a) a cluster in a box (b) designed for parallel processing
or (c) both?
3) Does anyone know if these new systems will be capable of parallel and vector
processing when they become avaliable in VMS? ( I know a VAX is a VAX is a VAX
but nothing lasts forever)
4) Ignoring cost issues, which would give greater user satisfaction: a LAVC
of these high-power CVAXes or one big machine like an 8800?
5) What am I leaving out?
Thanks to all,
Glenn
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