The Hardware                   computers (the server)

       The Olympic Weather Support    functions as an electronic

       System at the Olympic Weather  post office and library,

       Support Office in Peachtree    receiving incoming data,

       City consists primarily of     storing them, and then

       Hewlett Packard and SUN        distributing them to the other

       computer workstations and an   workstations when they need

       IBM massively parallel         the information. The

       processing computer, which is  workstations of the OWSS are

       capable of performing millions very different from the PCs

       of mathematical calculations   with which most people are

       every second. Three separate   familiar. For example, the

       high-volume data circuits      server contains 16 times the

       provide connections to the     random access memory (RAM) and

       National Centers for           has 32 times the data storage

       Environmental Prediction in    capacity found in a

       Camp Springs, Maryland, to     top-of-the-line PC.

       Cray Research, Inc. facilities     Like the Olympic Weather

       in Minnesota and Wisconsin,    Support System at the main

       and to Georgia Tech University Support Office in Peachtree

       in Atlanta. A fourth high      City, the Olympic Marine

       volume data line will connect  Weather Support Office's

       the main Olympic Weather       Support System comprises

       Support Office with the        Hewlett Packard and SUN

       Olympic Marine Weather Support computer workstations. The

       Office on Wilmington Island.   capabilities of these

           The workstations are used  workstations are similar to

       by the forecasters to display  those of the workstations at

       and analyze data and to        the main Support Office in

       prepare products. At the       Peachtree City. The majority

       center of the Support System,  of the data used by the Marine

       one of the Hewlett Packard     Weather Support Office arrive

                                      via a high-volume data link

                                      with the Support Office in

                                      Peachtree City.



                  Parallel Computing--A Brief Introduction

       Parallel processing is rapidly To assist in providing weather

       becoming the dominant          forecasting support for the

       high-performance computer      1996 Olympic Games, the

       technology. No longer          National Weather Service will

       restricted to research l       be using a parallel processing

       aboratories and universities,  computer on loan from the IBM

       parallel processors are        Corporation. The IBM computer,

       appearing in more conventional known as a Scalable Processing

       operational computing          (SP) system, uses AIX* as its

       environments.There are several operating system. AIX is IBM's

       reasons for the growing        product for the open UNIX**

       popularity of parallel         environment. The IBM SP system

       computing, the first of which  is based on the powerful

       is that basic computer         POWER-2 processor. The system

       technologies are changing.     installed to assist in weather

       Advances in semiconductor      support during the Games has

       process technology have led to been configured with

       steady growth in               particular attention to high

       microprocessor performance.    reliability because of the

       Currently, microprocessor      high sensitivity and public

       performance is doubling every  nature of the Olympics. The

       12 to 18 months. These         system will consist of 28

       increasingly fast              "Thin 2" nodes (or

       microprocessors are being      processors), two "Wide" nodes,

       assembled into systems that go and two RS6000 39H control

       beyond the performance of      stations. The nodes will be in

       traditional supercomputers for two racks, interconnected with

       many kinds of problems.The     high speed switches and

       microprocessors in these       Ethernet connections. It will

       powerful machines are arranged use external storage under

       in a "parallel" fashion. A     control of the active control

       parallel processing computer   workstation. Should one

       can be thought of as a system  control workstation fail, the

       of smaller computers (or       other will dynamically take

       microprocessors) installed in  control of the entire system.

       a single computer and          The system will use AIX 4.1 as

       configured in such as way as   its operating system.

       to allow these processors to

       communicate with each other

       and share the burden of

       solving a complex problem.     [Image]

       Equally important is the       A schematic depicting the

       software environment needed to configuration of the IBM SP2

       create and manage such         massively parrallel processing

       parallel processing.First,     computer being used at the

       software is needed to manage   Olympic Weather Support Office

       the distribution of tasks and  in Peachtree City.

       data among multiple

       processors. Next, compilers

       are needed that are capable of

       allowing the programmer to

       state the problem to be solved

       in terms of multiple

       independent units that can

       operate simultaneously.

       Finally, communication

       software that can handle the

       data flow between processing

       elements and tools that assist

       in controlling the overall

       operation of the computer are

       needed.



       *Trademark of IBM

       Corporation**Trademark of UNIX

       System Laboratories, Inc.



       TECHNOLOGICAL TOOLS



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