Bringing OptoBoards to HPC-scale environments: An OptoHPC simulation engine

Abstract

The increased communication bandwidth demands of HPC-systems calling at the same time for reduced latency and increased power efficiency have designated optical interconnects as the key technology in order to achieve the target of exascale performance. In this realm, technology advances have to be accompanied by corresponding simulation tools that support end-to-end system modeling in order to evaluate the performance benefits offered by optical components at system-environment. We present here the OptoHPC-Sim, which supports the utilization of optical interconnect and electro-optical routing technologies at system-scale offering complete end-to-end simulation of HPC-systems and allowing for reliable comparison with existing HPC platforms. OptoHPC-sim has been developed using the Omnet++ platform and is designed to offer the optimum balance between the model detail and the simulation execution time. We describe the design of the simulation engine and demonstrate the capabilities of OptoHPC-sim by comparing an HPC system employing state-of-the-art optoelectronic routers and optical interconnects with the Cray XK7 system platform.