Network Supercomputing: Experiments with a Cray-2 to Cm-2 Hippi Connection

The increasing demand for grealer performance along with recent advances an high performance networking have transformed the traditional supercomputer model of a large central machine into a distributed, networked model of computing where shared terabyte storage systems, high speed graphical frame buflers, high resolution workstations, vector supercomputers and massively parallel computers can be applied together in a cooperative network in order to solve scientific problems of unprecedented complexity. In this paper we describe the High Performance Parallel Interface (HIPPI) operating environment currently in place at the Minnesota Supercomputer Center and provide preliminary performance measurements obtained while transmitting data between a CRAY-2 and CM-2 computer system. Finally, we discuss how the HIPPI can be used by compute-intensive applications to reduce their overall execution time.