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| [[File:Sgi_altix.jpg|thumb|SGI Altix 3000]] | | [[File:Sgi_altix.jpg|thumb|SGI Altix 3000]] |
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| '''Altix''' is the name used for a broad line of servers and supercomputers produced by Silicon Graphics (International) using Intel processors. It succeeded the [[MIPS architecture|MIPS]]/[[IRIX]]-based [[SGI Origin 3000|Origin 3000]] servers. | | '''Altix''' is the name used for a broad line of servers and supercomputers produced by Silicon Graphics (International) using Intel processors. It succeeded the [[MIPS architecture|MIPS]]/[[IRIX]]-based [[SGI Origin 3000|Origin 3000]] servers. |
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− | The line was first announced on January 7, 2003, with the '''Altix 3000''' series, based on Intel [[Itanium 2]] processors and SGI's [[NUMAlink]] processor interconnect. At product introduction, the system supported up to 64 processors running Linux as a [[single system image]] and shipped with a Linux distribution called SGI Advanced Linux Environment, which was compatible with Red Hat Advanced Server. By August 2003, many SGI Altix customers were running Linux on 128p and even 256p SGI Altix systems, but SGI officially announced 256-processor support within a single system image of Linux on March 10, 2004 using an 2.4-based kernel. The SGI Advanced Linux Environment was eventually dropped after support using a standard, unmodified SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) distribution for SGI Altix was provided with SLES 8 and SLES 9. Later, SGI Altix 512-processor systems were officially supported using unmodified, standard Linux distribution with the launch of SLES 9 SP1. Besides full support of SGI Altix on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, a standard and unmodified Red Hat Enterprise Linux was also fully supported starting with SGI Altix 3700 Bx2 with RHEL 4 and RHEL 5 with system processor limits defined by Red Hat for those releases. | + | The line was first announced on January 7, 2003, with the '''Altix 3000''' series, based on Intel [[Itanium 2]] processors and SGI's [[NUMAlink]] processor interconnect. At product introduction, the system supported up to 64 processors running Linux as a single system image and shipped with a Linux distribution called SGI Advanced Linux Environment, which was compatible with Red Hat Advanced Server. By August 2003, many SGI Altix customers were running Linux on 128p and even 256p SGI Altix systems, but SGI officially announced 256-processor support within a single system image of Linux on March 10, 2004 using an 2.4-based kernel. The SGI Advanced Linux Environment was eventually dropped after support using a standard, unmodified SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) distribution for SGI Altix was provided with SLES 8 and SLES 9. Later, SGI Altix 512-processor systems were officially supported using unmodified, standard Linux distribution with the launch of SLES 9 SP1. Besides full support of SGI Altix on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, a standard and unmodified Red Hat Enterprise Linux was also fully supported starting with SGI Altix 3700 Bx2 with RHEL 4 and RHEL 5 with system processor limits defined by Red Hat for those releases. |
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| On 14 November 2005, SGI introduced the '''Altix 4000''' series based on the Itanium 2. SGI later officially supported 1024-processors systems on an unmodified, standard Linux distribution with the launch of SLES 10 in July 2006. SGI Altix 4700 was also officially supported by Red Hat with RHEL 4 and RHEL 5—maximum processor limits were as defined by Red Hat for its RHEL releases. | | On 14 November 2005, SGI introduced the '''Altix 4000''' series based on the Itanium 2. SGI later officially supported 1024-processors systems on an unmodified, standard Linux distribution with the launch of SLES 10 in July 2006. SGI Altix 4700 was also officially supported by Red Hat with RHEL 4 and RHEL 5—maximum processor limits were as defined by Red Hat for its RHEL releases. |
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| == Altix 3000 == | | == Altix 3000 == |
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− | The '''Altix 3000''' was the first generation of Altix systems. At the middle- and high-end it largely took the existing [[Origin 3000]] packaging and interconnect, and substituted Intel [[Itanium]] processors for the traditional [[MIPS]] CPUs. As a result many components can be swapped between the two families, such as routers, NUMAlink cables, etc. | + | The '''Altix 3000''' was the first generation of Altix systems. At the middle- and high-end it largely took the existing [[SGI Origin 3000]] packaging and interconnect, and substituted Intel [[Itanium]] processors for the traditional [[MIPS]] CPUs. As a result many components can be swapped between the two families, such as routers, NUMAlink cables, etc. |
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| It was succeeded by the Altix 4000 in 2004, and the last model was discontinued on 31 December 2006. | | It was succeeded by the Altix 4000 in 2004, and the last model was discontinued on 31 December 2006. |
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| === Altix 330 === | | === Altix 330 === |
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− | The [[Altix 330]] is an entry-level server, with a target of under US$7,000 for a basic single module system. Like higher-end models, the Altix 330 can be built up to its maximum configuration by connecting multiple modules through the [[NUMAlink]] interconnect. A [[single system image]] may contain 1 to 16 Itanium 2 processors and 2 to 128 GB of memory. | + | The [[Altix 330]] is an entry-level server, with a target of under US$7,000 for a basic single module system. Like higher-end models, the Altix 330 can be built up to its maximum configuration by connecting multiple modules through the [[NUMAlink]] interconnect. A single system image may contain 1 to 16 Itanium 2 processors and 2 to 128 GB of memory. |
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| === Altix 350 === | | === Altix 350 === |
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| === Altix 3700 === | | === Altix 3700 === |
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− | The '''Altix 3700''' is a high-end model supporting 16 to 512 processors and 8 GB to 2 TB of memory. It requires one or multiple tall (39U) rack(s). A variant of the Altix 3000 with graphics capability is known as the [[SGI Prism|Prism]]. | + | The '''Altix 3700''' is a high-end model supporting 16 to 512 processors and 8 GB to 2 TB of memory. It requires one or multiple tall (39U) rack(s). A variant of the Altix 3000 with graphics capability is known as the [[Prism]]. |
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| It is based on the third generation NUMAflex distributed shared memory architecture and it uses the [[NUMAlink#NUMAlink 3|NUMAlink 3]] interconnection fabric. The Altix 3000 supports a single system image of 64 processors. If there are more than 64 processors in a system, then the system must be partitioned. | | It is based on the third generation NUMAflex distributed shared memory architecture and it uses the [[NUMAlink#NUMAlink 3|NUMAlink 3]] interconnection fabric. The Altix 3000 supports a single system image of 64 processors. If there are more than 64 processors in a system, then the system must be partitioned. |
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− | The basic building block is the C-brick. Each C-brick contains two nodes. A C-brick is a 4U high rackmount unit. Each node contains two Intel [[Itanium|Itanium 2]] processors which connects to the Super-Bedrock [[Application specific integrated circuit|ASIC]] through a single front side bus. The Super-Bedrock ASIC is a [[crossbar]] for the processors, the local RAM, the network interface and the I/O interface. The two Super-Bedrock ASICs in each brick are connected internally by a single 6.4 GB/s NUMAlink 4 channel. A processor node also contains 16 [[DIMM]] slots that accept standard DDR1 DIMMs with capacities of 4 to 16 GB. | + | The basic building block is the C-brick. Each C-brick contains two nodes. A C-brick is a 4U high rackmount unit. Each node contains two Intel [[Itanium|Itanium 2]] processors which connects to the Super-Bedrock ASIC through a single front side bus. The Super-Bedrock ASIC is a [[crossbar]] for the processors, the local RAM, the network interface and the I/O interface. The two Super-Bedrock ASICs in each brick are connected internally by a single 6.4 GB/s NUMAlink 4 channel. A processor node also contains 16 [[DIMM]] slots that accept standard DDR1 DIMMs with capacities of 4 to 16 GB. |
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| === Altix 3700 Bx2 === | | === Altix 3700 Bx2 === |
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| Codenamed "Tollhouse," the '''Altix 4000''' series was Silicon Graphics' second and last Itanium-based product family. It was composed of two models: the Altix 450, a mid-range server generally limited to no more than a single full-sized rack; and the Altix 4700, a high-end system for the High Performance Computing and data-intensive workload markets. | | Codenamed "Tollhouse," the '''Altix 4000''' series was Silicon Graphics' second and last Itanium-based product family. It was composed of two models: the Altix 450, a mid-range server generally limited to no more than a single full-sized rack; and the Altix 4700, a high-end system for the High Performance Computing and data-intensive workload markets. |
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− | The '''Altix 4000''' family used a different approach to packaging components. Whereas the [[SGI Origin 3000]] and '''Altix 3000''' used "bricks" of 2U/3U compute packages, the '''Altix 4000''' would be built up from blade-based [[Individual Rack Unit]]s or IRUs. Each IRU can be configured with a number of "blades," where each blade can offer CPU, memory, I/O expansion, or new FPGA-based [[Reconfigurable Application Specific Computing]] ([[RASC]]) resources. Each IRU incorporates two [[NUMAlink|NUMAlink 4]] routers to handle interconnecting multiple IRUs into a larger configuration. | + | The '''Altix 4000''' family used a different approach to packaging components. Whereas the [[SGI Origin 3000]] and '''Altix 3000''' used "bricks" of 2U/3U compute packages, the '''Altix 4000''' would be built up from blade-based [[Individual Rack Unit]]s or IRUs. Each IRU can be configured with a number of "blades," where each blade can offer CPU, memory, I/O expansion, or new FPGA-based [[Reconfigurable Application Specific Computing]] (RASC) resources. Each IRU incorporates two [[NUMAlink|NUMAlink 4]] routers to handle interconnecting multiple IRUs into a larger configuration. |
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| Operating system choices included RedHat Enterprise Linux Advanced Server and SuSE Linux Enterprise Server, with SGI's [[ProPack]] adding various tools and management utilities. | | Operating system choices included RedHat Enterprise Linux Advanced Server and SuSE Linux Enterprise Server, with SGI's [[ProPack]] adding various tools and management utilities. |