[comp.parallel] Parallel computing survey

gvw@castle.ed.ac.uk (Greg Wilson) (11/16/90)

Several of my colleagues and I have recently completed a survey of
manufacturers of parallel computer manufacturers called "Past, Present,
Parallel".  The manuscript has gone off to the publisher (Springer), and
the book should be available some time in February of 1991.  The
contents of the book are given below; once it has been published I will
post bibliographic information. 

We would like to thank all of those people who responded to our queries
during the past six months.  Without the information and contacts you
gave us, we would never have been able to get it done. 

Greg Wilson (editor/2)

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                    Past, Present, Parallel:

                A Survey  of Parallel Computing

                 at the Beginning of the 1990s

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Foreword . . . v
Acknowledgments and Disclaimers . . . vii

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1	Introduction . . . 1
1.1	An Introduction to Parallel Processing . . . 2
1.1.1	B. P. (Before Parallelism) . . . 2
1.1.2	Computer Architectures . . . 6
1.1.3	Computer Software . . . 9
1.1.4	Types of Parallelism . . . 12

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2	SIMD: Specialisation Equals Success . . . 13

2.1	Active Memory Technology . . . 14
2.1.1	The Company . . . 14
2.1.2	The Machine . . . 16
2.1.3	The Development System . . . 20
2.1.4	Programming Languages . . . 21
2.1.5	The Market Niche . . . 22
2.1.6	The Competition . . . 23
2.1.7	The Future . . . 24

2.2	MasPar Computer Corporation . . . 26
2.2.1	The Company . . . 26
2.2.2	The Machine . . . 27
2.2.3	The Program Development System . . . 32
2.2.4	Programming Languages . . . 32
2.2.5	The Market . . . 33
2.2.6	The Competitors . . . 34
2.2.7	The Future . . . 35

2.3	Thinking Machines Corporation . . . 36
2.3.1	The Company . . . 36
2.3.2	The Machine . . . 37
2.3.3	The Development System . . . 43
2.3.4	Programming Languages . . . 43
2.3.5	The Market Niche . . . 45
2.3.6	The Competition . . . 46
2.3.7	The Future . . . 47

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3	Shared Memory Multiprocessors: The Evolutionary Approach . . . 55

3.1	Alliant Computer Systems . . . 56
3.1.1	The Company . . . 56
3.1.2	The Hardware . . . 57
3.1.3	The Visualisation Machines . . . 59
3.1.4	Software . . . 60
3.1.5	The Market Niche . . . 61
3.1.6	The Competition . . . 62
3.1.7	The Future . . . 62

3.2	BBN Advanced Computers Inc . . . 64
3.2.1	The Company . . . 64
3.2.2	The Machine . . . 66
	The Butterfly Switch . . . 66
	The Processors . . . 68
	The Communications System . . . 69
3.2.3	The Development System . . . 70
3.2.4	Programming Languages . . . 72
3.2.5	The Market Niche . . . 73
3.2.6	The Competition . . . 74
3.2.7	The Future . . . 75

3.3	Concurrent Computer Corporation . . . 76
3.3.1	Background . . . 76
3.3.2	The 3200 Series . . . 76
3.3.3	The 8000 Series . . . 78
3.3.4	The Market . . . 78
3.3.5	The Future . . . 79

3.4	Convex Computer Corporation . . . 80
3.4.1	The Company . . . 80
3.4.2	The Hardware . . . 81
3.4.3	Software . . . 83
3.4.4	The Market Niche . . . 84
3.4.5	The Competition . . . 85
3.4.6	The Future . . . 85

3.5	Encore Computer Corporation . . . 87
3.5.1	The Company . . . 87
3.5.2	The Machines . . . 89
	Multimax . . . 89
	The Encore 91 . . . 91
3.5.3	The Development System . . . 93
3.5.4	Programming Languages . . . 93
3.5.5	The Market Niche . . . 94
3.5.6	The Competition . . . 95
3.5.7	The Future . . . 96

3.6	FPS Computing . . . 97
3.6.1	The Company . . . 97
3.6.2	The Machine . . . 99
3.6.3	The Development System . . . 102
3.6.4	Programming Languages . . . 103
3.6.5	The Market Niche . . . 103
3.6.6	The Competition . . . 104
3.6.7	The Future . . . 105

3.7	Sequent Computer Systems . . . 106
3.7.1	The Company . . . 106
3.7.2	The Machine . . . 107
3.7.3	The Operating System . . . 110
3.7.4	Programming languages . . . 111
3.7.5	The Market Niche . . . 112
3.7.6	The Competition . . . 113
3.7.7	The Future . . . 113

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4	Hypercubes: A Geometry that Works . . . 125

4.1	Intel Scientific Computers . . . 126
4.1.1	The Company . . . 126
4.1.2	The Hardware . . . 127
	iPSC/1 . . . 128
	iPSC/2 . . . 129
4.1.3	The Concurrent I/O facility . . . 130
	iPSC/860 . . . 131
4.1.4	The Software . . . 132
	Languages . . . 132
	Tools . . . 133
4.1.5	Sales . . . 133
4.1.6	The Market Niche . . . 134
4.1.7	The Future . . . 136
4.2	NCUBE Corporation . . . 137
4.2.1	The Company . . . 137
4.2.2	Hardware . . . 138
	The NCUBE/ten . . . 138
	The NCUBE/four and NCUBE/seven . . . 140
	NCUBE-2 . . . 140
4.2.3	The Software . . . 142
4.2.4	The Market Niche . . . 143
4.2.5	The Opposition . . . 143
4.2.6	The Future . . . 144

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5	The Transputer and Its Offspring . . . 149

5.1	Inmos Limited . . . 150
5.1.1	The Company . . . 150
5.1.2	The Transputer . . . 153
	T414 . . . 153
	T800 . . . 155
	T400 . . . 155
	Transputer Modules (TRAMs) . . . 156
5.1.3	The Software . . . 156
5.1.4	The Market Niche . . . 156
5.1.5	The Future . . . 157

5.2	Caplin Cybernetics . . . 159
5.2.1	The Company . . . 159
5.2.2	Caplin's Product Range . . . 160
	The QT Series . . . 160
	HEX . . . 161
	HEXsys . . . 162
5.2.3	The Market Niche . . . 163
5.2.4	Present Applications . . . 163
	Computational Chemistry . . . 163
	Finite Element Analysis and Computational Fluid Dynamics . . . 164
	Relational Database Applications . . . 164
5.2.5	The Future . . . 164

5.3	Meiko Scientific Limited . . . 165
5.3.1	The Company . . . 165
5.3.2	The Hardware . . . 166
	The In-Sun Computing Surface . . . 169
	SPARC-based Computing Surface . . . 170
	i860-based Computing Surface . . . 171
5.3.3	Programming Environments . . . 172
5.3.4	CSTools . . . 172
5.3.5	Sales and Marketing . . . 173
5.3.6	The Future . . . 175

5.4	Parsys Limited . . . 176
5.4.1	The Company . . . 176
	The Esprit Supernode Projects . . . 176
	Parsys Goes It Alone . . . 178
	Telmat Informatique . . . 178
5.4.2	The Hardware . . . 179
5.4.3	The Software . . . 182
	The IDRIS Operating System . . . 182
	X Support . . . 183
	Transputer Development System (TDS) . . . 183
	Compilers and Libraries . . . 184
5.4.4	The Market Niche . . . 184
5.4.5	The Competition . . . 184
5.4.6	Current Applications . . . 185
	Commercial . . . 185
	Engineering . . . 185
	Finance . . . 186
5.4.7	The Future . . . 186

5.5	Parsytec GmbH . . . 187
5.5.1	The Company . . . 187
5.5.2	System Overview . . . 188
	Plug-in Boards . . . 188
	Mid-range Systems . . . 189
	The Stand-alone Systems . . . 191
5.5.3	Applications and Performance . . . 192
5.5.4	The Software . . . 193
5.5.5	The Market . . . 194
5.5.6	The Future . . . 195

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6	New Machines For New Niches . . . 201

6.1	Cogent Research Incorporated . . . 202
6.1.1	The Company . . . 202
6.1.2	The Hardware . . . 202
6.1.3	The Software . . . 204
6.1.4	The Market Niche . . . 205
6.1.5	The Future . . . 206

6.2	Silicon Graphics Incorporated . . . 207
6.2.1	The Company . . . 207
6.2.2	The Hardware . . . 208
	The Personal Iris . . . 209
	The SGI POWER Range . . . 210
	Graphics Facilities and Add-on Hardware . . . 210
6.2.3	The Software . . . 211
	The Development Machine . . . 211
	Graphics and Third-party Software . . . 212
6.2.4	The Market Niche . . . 213
6.2.5	The Future . . . 214

6.3	Stardent Computer Incorporated . . . 215
6.3.1	The Company  . . . 215
	Stellar Computer Incorporated  . . . 215
	Ardent Computer Corporation . . . 217
	The Partnership with Kubota . . . 218
6.3.2	The Hardware . . . 219
	Stardent 3000 . . . 219
6.3.3	The Software . . . 221
	Operating System and Compilers . . . 221
	Visualisation Systems . . . 221
	Third Party Software . . . 222
6.3.4	The Market . . . 222
6.3.5	The Future . . . 223

6.4	Teradata Corporation . . . 225
6.4.1	The Company . . . 225
6.4.2	The Hardware . . . 226
6.4.3	Interface Software . . . 228
6.4.4	Internal Software . . . 229
6.4.5	Support for Critical Environments . . . 230
6.4.6	The Marketplace . . . 230
6.4.7	The Future . . . 231

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7	Vector Supercomputers: It's Never Too Late to Parallelise . . . 239

7.1	Cray Research Inc . . . 240
7.1.1	The Company . . . 240
7.1.2	Cray X-MP -> Cray Y-MP -> C90 . . . 241
	Cray X-MP . . . 241
	Cray Y-MP . . . 242
	The C90 . . . 243
7.1.3	Cray-2 -> Cray-3 . . . 243
	Cray-2 . . . 243
	Cray-3 and Cray-4 . . . 245
7.1.4	The Software . . . 246
7.1.5	The Market Niche . . . 248
7.1.6	The Competition . . . 249
7.1.7	The Future . . . 250

7.2	NEC . . . 252
7.2.1	The Company . . . 252
7.2.2	The Hardware . . . 252
7.2.3	The Software . . . 254
7.2.4	The Market . . . 254

7.3	Supercomputer Systems Inc . . . 256
7.3.1	The Company . . . 256
7.3.2	Who is Steve Chen? . . . 257
7.3.3	SSI's Options . . . 257

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8	The Giants: Biding Their Time . . . 261

8.1	Digital Equipment Corporation . . . 262
8.1.1	The Company . . . 262
8.1.2	The Hardware . . . 263
	The Cm* . . . 263
	ASMP and SMP . . . 263
	Vax 9000 . . . 264
	Firefly . . . 265
8.1.3	The Software . . . 265
	Vax Software . . . 265
	Firefly Software . . . 266
8.1.4	The Market . . . 267
8.1.5	The Future . . . 267

8.2	Fujitsu . . . 269
8.2.1	The Company . . . 269
8.2.2	Vector Computers . . . 269
8.2.3	The CAP-C5 Array Processor . . . 272
8.2.4	The AP-1000 Array Processor . . . 275
8.2.5	The Future . . . 277

8.3	IBM Corporation . . . 279
8.3.1	The Company . . . 279
8.3.2	The ES/9000 . . . 280
8.3.3	Operating Systems . . . 283
	MVS . . . 283
	VM/CMS . . . 284
8.3.4	Programming Languages . . . 284
	Parallel Fortran . . . 284
	Other Software . . . 285
8.3.5	The Market . . . 285
8.3.6	The Future . . . 286

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9	Software: Efficiency vs. Portability? . . . 291

9.1	Express . . . 292
9.1.1	The Express Family of Products . . . 292
9.1.2	History and Philosophy . . . 293
9.1.3	Express . . . 293
9.1.4	Cubix and Plotix . . . 295
9.1.5	Other Utilities . . . 296

9.2	Helios . . . 297
9.2.1	Perihelion and Helios  . . . 297
9.2.2	The Helios Model . . . 297
9.2.3	The Helios Network . . . 298
9.2.4	Helios Programming Environment . . . 300
9.2.5	Helios as an Environment . . . 303
9.2.6	The Market for Helios . . . 303

9.3	Linda . . . 304
9.3.1	Linda Operations . . . 305
9.3.2	Linda Examples . . . 306
	Client-Server . . . 306
	Task Farm . . . 306
9.3.3	The Future . . . 307

9.4	Strand88 . . . 309
9.4.1	History . . . 309
9.4.2	Design . . . 310
	Parallel Semantics . . . 310
	Portability . . . 310
	Foreign Language Interface . . . 311
9.4.3	Markets for Strand88 . . . 312
	Academic Institutions . . . 313
	Applied Commercial Research Laboratories . . . 313
	Hardware Manufacturers . . . 313
	Software Houses . . . 314
	Application Developers . . . 314
9.4.4	The Competition . . . 314
9.4.5	The Future . . . 315

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10	Machines Past . . . 317

10.1	BiiN . . . 318
10.1.1	The Company . . . 318
10.1.2	The Hardware . . . 318
10.1.3	The Software . . . 320
10.1.4	The Market . . . 321
10.1.5	BiiN's Demise . . . 321

10.2	ETA Systems . . . 323
10.2.1	The Company . . . 323
10.2.2	The Hardware . . . 324
10.2.3	The Software . . . 325
10.2.4	Costs and Sales . . . 326
10.2.5	What Went Wrong? . . . 327
	The Stock Market and Financing . . . 327
	ETA Management . . . 328
	Marketing . . . 328
	CDC Management . . . 329

10.3	Multiflow . . . 330
10.3.1	Going Up . . . 330
10.3.2	Going Down . . . 332
10.3.3	Why Did Multiflow Fail? . . . 332
10.3.4	A Future for VLIW technology? . . . 333

10.4	Myrias Research Corporation . . . 335
10.4.1	The Company . . . 335
10.4.2	User-Level Model . . . 335
10.4.3	Claims About the User-Level Model . . . 337
10.4.4	Compromises in the User-Level Model . . . 338
10.4.5	The Virtual Machine and Its Implementation . . . 338
10.4.6	The Product Range . . . 339
10.4.7	Sales . . . 341
10.4.8	The End . . . 341

10.5	Symult Incorporated . . . 342
10.5.1	Ametek and Symult . . . 342
10.5.2	The Symult S2010 . . . 342
10.5.3	The Communications Network . . . 343
10.5.4	Why Did the S2010 Fail? . . . 345

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11	Machines Future . . . 353

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A	Technology . . . 359

A.1	Cache Memory . . . 360
A.1.1	Performance . . . 360
A.1.2	Cache Update Policies . . . 360
A.1.3	Multicache Consistency . . . 361

A.2	Message Passing Systems . . . 361
A.2.1	Addressing of Messages . . . 362
	Numeric Task and Type Identifiers . . . 362
	Ports . . . 363
	Channels . . . 363
	Operating System . . . 363
A.2.2	Deadlock and Related Issues . . . 364
A.2.3	Controlling Message Transfer . . . 364
A.2.4	Delivering Messages . . . 365
A.2.5	Message Selection . . . 366
A.2.6	Placing Tasks . . . 366

A.3	Visualisation . . . 367
A.3.1	Doing It In Hardware . . . 367

A.4	Parallel Compilers . . . 368
A.4.1	Vectorising Compilers . . . 369
A.4.2	Parallelising Compilers . . . 370
	VLIW Technology and Trace Scheduling . . . 370
	Trace Scheduling . . . 371

B	Units . . . 373

C	Glossary . . . 375

D	Trademarks . . . 383

Index . . . 387