Scalable Interconnection Networks

Abstract

A modern supercomputer or large scale server consists of a huge set of processing units and units that perform different forms of input/output and memory functions. These components unite in a complex collaboration to perform the main tasks of the system. Such collaboration requires communication between the components, which is supported by an infrastructure called the interconnection network. This book chapter describes the interconnection networks research activity at Simula the last five years done by the ICON group. ICON has focused on how to connect point-to-point links and switches into scalable network topologies, and how to route packets efficiently in order to yield the highest possible performance. This also poses various requirements regarding fault tolerance, quality of service (QoS), congestion control, virtualization, and other non-functional aspects. ICON's research results have been published in several of the most respected IEEE journals and magazines within our field. Furthermore, some of ICON's solutions have had a major impact on the routing architecture of modern supercomputers.