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From: eugene@ames.UUCP (Eugene Miya)
Newsgroups: net.works
Subject: Supercomputers/workstations and graphics
Message-ID: <446@ames.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 3-Aug-84 12:38:58 EDT
Article-I.D.: ames.446
Posted: Fri Aug  3 12:38:58 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 5-Aug-84 05:31:36 EDT
Organization: NASA-Ames Research Center, Mtn. View, CA
Lines: 36

[]
The problem right now: in addition to the task decomposition problem
mentioned by others [Using many micros to replace a super computer],
is the shear number of micros needed.  Yes, right now supercomputers
are more cost effect, I am having the privilege of running a Cray-X 12
under a shaky S-V.

The people at LLNL say a Cray-1 is equivalent to about 280x a 780 VAXen.
This figure is certainly disputable (problem dependent), other say 90x
a 780.  How many 8086s equal a Cray?  Now, we also have a Cray XMP 28,
its is only a little bigger, but we practically doubled the power.

You can certainly counter than micros will be cost effective soon.  I have
a reject chip from the Massively Parallel Processor with has 8 micros
on it. The MPP has 16,000 processors (rounded), and programming it is a
problem.

On the software decomposition problem:  not much work has been done to
distribute [either explicitly or implicitly] programming.  Many argue that
running Unix on a Cray is a waste of cycles due to keystroke interrupts
and the like.  Okay.  Then these people propose either a batch oriented
or a process server oriented model.  Well, I have batch using the Cray
with COS and RJE.  I have to learn COS, a step back into the stone ages.
No one has really created an integrated model of process servers
in a "high" performance environment.  I know about RIG and PARC's work
as well as others.  LLNL is trying a system called LINCS/NLTSS, but
FORTRAN still represents a problem--> programming for the workstation or
the super computer.  We need distributed programming of utilities
like editors and debuggers with treat the net as a distributed whole
and not a workstation and a process server.

--eugene miya
  NASA Ames Res. Ctr.
  emiya@ames-vmsb.ARPA
  {hplabs,hao,dual}!ames!aurora!eugene