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Full Discussion: High Performance Computing
Special Forums UNIX and Linux Applications High Performance Computing High Performance Computing Post 302278831 by otheus on Wednesday 21st of January 2009 09:22:27 AM
Old 01-21-2009
So this problem used to be rather "simple". Just use some CPU metric (MPIS, FLOPS, SPECint, SPECfloat, whatever) and divide it by the cost of a computer. Then we had a clear choice: 2 CPUs per "1U" system. Now the choice has expanded to cores per chip and we have 2, 4, and even 8-way systems (AMD). You could build a rack of Sunx6400, each containing 64 cores. But we also shouldn't forget Sun's T1 processor line, with 128 "virtual" cores.

Further complicating the issue: cost is no longer just for the compute node. Now you have to consider the networking costs between them. 100 Mbit Ethernet switches are cheap, but may not be suitable for a cluster of very fast machines. Infiniband gives you great performance, but scaling is very expensive -- just the cabling alone can cost as much as your CPUs!

Further complications: the operating costs of cooling and electricity are not insignificant. For every watt used by the CPU, you can count on needing 2 watts to cool it (depends on the climate you're in). Thus, if every computer node requires 1.5 A, and you have 256 compute nodes, you will need 1.5 * 256 * 3 = 1152 Amps of power and maybe 2 30-ton chillers.
 

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X86_ENERGY_PERF_POLICY(8)				      System Manager's Manual					 X86_ENERGY_PERF_POLICY(8)

NAME
x86_energy_perf_policy - read or write MSR_IA32_ENERGY_PERF_BIAS SYNOPSIS
x86_energy_perf_policy [-c cpu] [-v] -r x86_energy_perf_policy [-c cpu] [-v] 'performance' x86_energy_perf_policy [-c cpu] [-v] 'normal' x86_energy_perf_policy [-c cpu] [-v] 'powersave' x86_energy_perf_policy [-c cpu] [-v] n DESCRIPTION
x86_energy_perf_policy allows software to convey its policy for the relative importance of performance versus energy savings to the proces- sor. The processor uses this information in model-specific ways when it must select trade-offs between performance and energy efficiency. This policy hint does not supersede Processor Performance states (P-states) or CPU Idle power states (C-states), but allows software to have influence where it would otherwise be unable to express a preference. For example, this setting may tell the hardware how aggressively or conservatively to control frequency in the "turbo range" above the explicitly OS-controlled P-state frequency range. It may also tell the hardware how aggressively is should enter the OS requested C- states. Support for this feature is indicated by CPUID.06H.ECX.bit3 per the Intel Architectures Software Developer's Manual. Options -c limits operation to a single CPU. The default is to operate on all CPUs. Note that MSR_IA32_ENERGY_PERF_BIAS is defined per logical processor, but that the initial implementations of the MSR were shared among all processors in each package. -v increases verbosity. By default x86_energy_perf_policy is silent. -r is for "read-only" mode - the unchanged state is read and displayed. performance Set a policy where performance is paramount. The processor will be unwilling to sacrifice any performance for the sake of energy saving. This is the hardware default. normal Set a policy with a normal balance between performance and energy efficiency. The processor will tolerate minor performance compro- mise for potentially significant energy savings. This reasonable default for most desktops and servers. powersave Set a policy where the processor can accept a measurable performance hit to maximize energy efficiency. n Set MSR_IA32_ENERGY_PERF_BIAS to the specified number. The range of valid numbers is 0-15, where 0 is maximum performance and 15 is max- imum energy efficiency. NOTES
x86_energy_perf_policy runs only as root. FILES
/dev/cpu/*/msr SEE ALSO
msr(4) AUTHORS
Written by Len Brown <len.brown@intel.com> X86_ENERGY_PERF_POLICY(8)
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