The SP1 high-performance switch

Abstract

The IBM scalable POWERparallel systems 9076 SP1 connects RISC System/6000 processors via a communication network called the high-performance switch. This switch-based upon the Vulcan parallel processor incorporates a number of unusual features to enhance reliability, diagnose faults, and simplify cabling. This paper examines the SP1 switch architecture and implementation and overviews the switch support software. The switch is a bidirectional MIN, and provides at least 4 usable redundant paths for most pairs of communicating nodes.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>