An accelerated Cluster-Architecture for the Exascale

Abstract

Clusters are dominating high-performance computing (HPC) today. The success of this architecture is based on the fact that it profits from the improvements provided by main-stream computing well known under the label of Moore's Law. But trying to get to Exascale within this decade might require additional endeavors beyond surfing this technology wave. In order to find a possible direction we review Amdahl's and Gustafson's thoughts on scalability. Based on this analysis we propose an advance architecture combining a Cluster with a so called Booster element comprising of accelerators interconnected by a high-performance fabric. We argue that this architecture provides significant advantages compared to today's accelerated Clusters and might pave the way for Clusters into the era of Exascale computing.