White Papers

The following white papers provide technical and architectural information about SiCortex technology.

A New Generation of Cluster Interconnect
Lawrence C. Stewart and David Gingold | December 2006/revised April 2008
This paper describes the SiCortex interconnect fabric, its software interface, and the communication software, including the Message Passing Interface (MPI), that uses it.
SiCortex Technical Summary
Matt Reilly, Lawrence C. Stewart, Judson Leonard, and David Gingold | December 2006/revised April 2008
This paper describes the hardware and software in the SiCortex systems, and discusses the
ideas that motivated their design.
SiCortex: The Open Source Cluster Systems Company
G. Winfield Treese | December 2006/revised April 2008
This paper discusses the SiCortex computer system’s integration and enhancement of open
source software.
The Lustre® High Performance File System
G. Winfield Treese | December 2006/revised April 2008
This paper describes the Lustre file system, developed by Cluster File Systems®, Inc., and
discusses how SiCortex has integrated the Lustre technology into its systems.
The True Cost of Cluster Ownership
Douglas Eadline, Ph.D. | February 2007/revised April 2008
This White Paper reviews the history, problems, and hidden costs of High Performance Technical Computing (HPTC) clusters and describes how the SiCortex systems provide an innovative and cost-effective solution.
Why Power Matters
Judson Leonard | December 2006/revised April 2008
This paper explains why high performance computers must dramatically reduce their power consumption in order to achieve their performance goals then provides a brief description of how the SC5832/SC648 design has achieved order-of-magnitude improvements in energy efficiency and cost-performance.