SGI Origin 350

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The SGI Origin 350 is a mid-range server computer developed and manufactured by SGI introduced in 2003. Their discontinuation in December 2006 brought to a close almost two decades of MIPS and IRIX computing. [1]

Server (computing) computer to access a central resource or service on a network

In computing, a server is a computer program or a device that provides functionality for other programs or devices, called "clients". This architecture is called the client–server model, and a single overall computation is distributed across multiple processes or devices. Servers can provide various functionalities, often called "services", such as sharing data or resources among multiple clients, or performing computation for a client. A single server can serve multiple clients, and a single client can use multiple servers. A client process may run on the same device or may connect over a network to a server on a different device. Typical servers are database servers, file servers, mail servers, print servers, web servers, game servers, and application servers.

Silicon Graphics former American company

Silicon Graphics, Inc. was an American high-performance computing manufacturer, producing computer hardware and software. Founded in Mountain View, California in November 1981 by Jim Clark, its initial market was 3D graphics computer workstations, but its products, strategies and market positions developed significantly over time.

IRIX operating system

IRIX is a discontinued operating system developed by Paul Witt (SGI) to run on their MIPS workstations and servers. It is a variety of UNIX System V with BSD extensions. IRIX is the first operating system to include the XFS file system.

Contents

Hardware

The Origin 350 is based on the NUMAflex architecture, where a system is constructed from a varying number of modules connected together using the NUMAlink3 interconnect via cables. A system can consist of 2 to 32 processors, 1 to 64 GB of memory and 4 to 62 PCI-X slots. For systems with more than 8 processors, a 2U NUMAlink module is required for routing. Modules for disk storage and further PCI slots were also available. Multiple modules are coordinated at power up by an L2 controller which communicated to the modules via USB ports. The L2 controller was an external PowerPC computer running Linux with console, USB, modem and Ethernet ports.

NUMAlink is a system interconnect developed by Silicon Graphics (SGI) for use in its distributed shared memory ccNUMA computer systems. NUMAlink was originally developed by SGI for their Origin 2000 and Onyx2 systems. At the time of these systems' introduction, it was branded as "CrayLink" during SGI's brief ownership of Cray Research.

PCI-X computer bus and expansion card standard

PCI-X, short for Peripheral Component Interconnect eXtended, is a computer bus and expansion card standard that enhances the 32-bit PCI local bus for higher bandwidth demanded mostly by servers and workstations. It uses a modified protocol to support higher clock speeds, but is otherwise similar in electrical implementation. PCI-X 2.0 added speeds up to 533 MHz, with a reduction in electrical signal levels.

USB industry standard

USB is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply between personal computers and their peripheral devices. Released in 1996, the USB standard is currently maintained by the USB Implementers Forum. There have been three generations of USB specifications: USB 1.x, USB 2.0 and USB 3.x.

Compute module

The 2U compute module contained the processors, memory and four PCI-X slots on two buses. Each compute module features an IP53 node board, which contains two or four MIPS R16000 microprocessors clocked at 600 or 700 MHz with 4 MB of ECC L2 cache, eight DIMM slots for 1 to 8 GB of ECC memory, a Bedrock ASIC serving as the crossbar for enabling communication between the processors, memory and PCI-X slots.

MIPS is a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architecture (ISA) developed by MIPS Computer Systems.

ECC memory auto-correcting computer data storage

Error-correcting code memory is a type of computer data storage that can detect and correct the most common kinds of internal data corruption. ECC memory is used in most computers where data corruption cannot be tolerated under any circumstances, such as for scientific or financial computing.

DIMM computer memory module that have separate electrical contacts on each side of the module and a 64-bit data path

A DIMM or dual in-line memory module comprises a series of dynamic random-access memory integrated circuits. These modules are mounted on a printed circuit board and designed for use in personal computers, workstations and servers. DIMMs began to replace SIMMs as the predominant type of memory module as Intel P5-based Pentium processors began to gain market share.

Two variants of the compute module exist, the base compute module and the system expansion compute modules. The difference between these two models is that the inclusion of a SCSI disk drive and an IO9 input/output card is mandatory in the base compute module, but optional in the system expansion compute module. The IO9 input/output card connects to a PCI-X slot and provides SCSI interfaces for two internal disks, an external SCSI port, audio I/O and a 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet connection.

SCSI set of standards for physically connecting and transferring data between computers and peripheral devices

Small Computer System Interface is a set of standards for physically connecting and transferring data between computers and peripheral devices. The SCSI standards define commands, protocols, electrical, optical and logical interfaces. SCSI is most commonly used for hard disk drives and tape drives, but it can connect a wide range of other devices, including scanners and CD drives, although not all controllers can handle all devices. The SCSI standard defines command sets for specific peripheral device types; the presence of "unknown" as one of these types means that in theory it can be used as an interface to almost any device, but the standard is highly pragmatic and addressed toward commercial requirements.

Ethernet computer networking technology

Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 1983 as IEEE 802.3, and has since retained a good deal of backward compatibility and been refined to support higher bit rates and longer link distances. Over time, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies such as Token Ring, FDDI and ARCNET.

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Altix

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SGI Origin 200

The SGI Origin 200, code named Speedo, was an entry-level server computer developed and manufactured by SGI, introduced in October 1996 to accompany their mid-range and high-end Origin 2000. It is based on the same architecture as the Origin 2000 but has an unrelated hardware implementation. At the time of introduction, these systems ran the IRIX 6.4, and later, the IRIX 6.5 operating systems. The Origin 200 was discontinued on 30 June 2002.

The Origin 3000 and the Onyx 3000 is a family of mid-range and high-end computers developed and manufactured by SGI. The Origin 3000 is a server, while the Onyx 3000 is a visualization system. Both systems were introduced in July 2000 to succeed the Origin 2000 and the Onyx2 respectively. These systems ran the IRIX 6.5 Advanced Server Environment operating system. Entry-level variants of these systems based on the same architecture but with a different hardware implementation are known as the Origin 300 and Onyx 300. The Origin 3000 was succeeded by the Altix 3000 in 2004 and the last model was discontinued on 29 December 2006, while the Onyx 3000 was succeeded by the Onyx4 and the Itanium-based Prism in 2004 and the last model was discontinued on 25 March 2005.

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References

  1. End of General Availability for MIPS IRIX Products -- December 2006