 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(October 2019) |
The Challenge, code-named Eveready (deskside models) and Terminator (rackmount models), is a family of server computers and supercomputers developed and manufactured by Silicon Graphics in the early to mid-1990s that succeeded the earlier Power Series systems (not to be confused with IBM Power Systems). The Challenge was later succeeded by the NUMAlink-based Origin 200 and Origin 2000 in 1996.
There are three distinctive models of the Challenge. The first model, simply known as the "Challenge" used the 64-bit R4400. With the introduction of the R8000, the Challenge was upgraded to support more processors and memory as well as featuring support for this new processor. Such systems are known as the "POWER Challenge". During the final years of the Challenge architecture's useful life, the line was upgraded to support R10000 microprocessors. Older Challenge systems using the R10000 were known as the "Challenge 10000", while the newer POWER Challenge systems using the R10000 were known as the "POWER Challenge 10000".
Models suffixed with "GR" (for "Graphics Ready") could support the RealityEngine and InfiniteReality graphics subsystems. Standard models were either servers or supercomputers with no graphics support.
| Model | # of CPUs | CPU | CPU MHz | L2 cache | Memory | Enclosure | Introduced | Discontinued |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DM (Departmental) | 1, 2 or 4 | R4400 | 100, 150, 200 or 250 | 1 MB | ? | Deskside | 1994 | ? |
| L (Large) | 1 to 12 | R4400 | 100, 150, 200 250 | 1 or 4 MB | Up to 2 GB | Deskside | 1993 | ? |
| GR (Graphics Ready) | 2, 4, 8, 12, 16 or 24 | R4400 | 100, 150, 200 250 | 1 or 4 MB | ? | Rackmount | ? | ? |
| XL (Extra Large) | 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, 24 or 36 | R4400 | 100, 150, 200 or 250 | 1 or 4 MB | 16 GB | Rackmount | 1993 | ? |
| Model | # of CPUs | CPU | CPU MHz | L2 cache | Memory | Chassis | Introduced | Discontinued |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L (Large) | 1 to 12 | R10000 | 195 | 1 or 2 MB | Up to 2 GB | Deskside | ? | ? |
| GR (Graphics Ready) | 2, 4, 8, 12, 16 or 24 | R10000 | 195 | 1 or 2 MB | ? | Rackmount | ? | ? |
| XL (Extra Large) | 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, 24 or 36 | R10000 | 195 | 1 or 2 MB | 16 GB | Rackmount | ? | ? |
The POWER Challenge was announced on 28 January 1993 [1] and was intended to compete against supercomputer companies such as Cray Research. [1] At the time of its announcement, Silicon Graphics claimed that the POWER Challenge would have the same level of performance as Cray's Cray Y-MP with a single microprocessor. [1] The new model was introduced in the middle of 1994 and used the MIPS R8000 microprocessor chip set, which consisted of the R8000 microprocessor and R8010 floating point unit accompanied by a "streaming" cache and its associated controllers. Much of the POWER Challenge's performance depended on the R8000, a microprocessor intended to achieve supercomputing performance and designed for floating-point scientific applications. [2] As a result, the R8000 had features such as fused multiply–add instructions and a large cache. [2]
In 1995, Silicon Graphics upgraded the POWER Challenge with R8000 microprocessors clocked at 90 MHz, enabling the system to scale up to 6.48 GFLOPS, an improvement of 1 GFLOPS over the previous R8000 microprocessor clocked at 75 MHz.
| Model | # of CPUs | CPU | CPU MHz | L2 cache | Memory | Chassis | Introduced | Discontinued |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L (Large) | 1 to 6 | R8000 | 75 or 90 | 4 MB | Up to 6 GB | Deskside | ? | 21 January 1997 |
| GR (Graphics Ready) | 1 to 12 | R8000 | 75 or 90 | 4 MB | ? | Rackmount | ? | 21 January 1997 |
| XL (Extra Large) | 2 to 18 | R8000 | 75 or 90 | 4 MB | 64 MB to 16 GB | Rackmount | ? | 21 January 1997 |
The POWER Challenge 10000 referred to POWER Challenge-based systems that used the R10000 microprocessor. These models were introduced in January 1996, succeeding the R4400-based Challenge and the R8000-based POWER Challenge, although such systems co-existed with the POWER Challenge 10000 for some time. To support the new R10000s, a new CPU board, the "IP25" was introduced. The new CPU board, like the previous IP19 CPU board, supports one, two, or four processors and their associated secondary caches.
| Model | # of CPUs | CPU | CPU MHz | L2 cache | Memory | Chassis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L (Large) | 1 to 12 | R10000 | 195 | 1 or 2 MB | Up to 6 GB | Deskside |
| XL (Extra Large) | 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, 24 or 36 | R10000 | 195 | 1 or 2 MB | 64 MB to 16 GB | Rackmount |
The CHALLENGEarray and POWER CHALLENGEarray is a cluster of Challenge or POWER Challenge servers respectively. The CHALLENGEarray supports 2 to 288 R10000 processors while the POWER CHALLENGEarray supports 2 to 144 R8000 processors and up to 128 GB of memory. The POWER CHALLENGEarray was introduced on 15 November 1994.
Other systems from Silicon Graphics that used the "Challenge" brand were the Challenge M and the Challenge S. These systems were repackaged Silicon Graphics Indigo2 and Indy workstations that were not configured with the graphics hardware that made them useful as workstations. These systems were Challenges in name only and have no architectural similarity with the multiprocessing Challenges, although they had cases with the same blue hue as proper Challenges. They were branded as such in order for the systems to be marketed as part of the Challenge server family, positioned as entry level servers.
The deskside enclosure is predominately black with a vertical blue strip on right side. The rackmount enclosure is black, but the front is blue with a horizontal black strip in the middle where the system controller display is mounted. Deskside systems have a width of 54 cm (21 inches), a height of 65 cm (26 inches), a depth of 74 cm (29 inches) and a weighs a minimum of 89 kg (195 lbs). [3] Rackmount systems have a width of 69 cm (27 inches), a height of 159 cm (62.3 inches), a depth of 122 cm (48 inches) and weighs a maximum of 544 kg (1200 lbs). [4]
Rackmount systems have a 1,900 watt power supply.
The Challenge is a shared-memory multiprocessor computer. The system is based on nodes, which are implemented as boards that plug into a midplane containing Ebus slots and the POWERpath-2 "Ebus" bus, a system bus that the nodes use to communicate with other nodes. The POWERpath-2 bus consists of a 256-bit path for data and a 40-bit path for addressing clocked at 47.6 MHz (21-nanosecond cycle), providing 1.2 GB/s of sustained bandwidth.
The midplane in DM and L models contains five Ebus slots that can support a combination of three CPU, one memory or two POWERchannel-2 interface boards. The midplane also contains five VME expansion slots.
The midplane in XL models contains fifteen Ebus slots that can support a combination of nine CPU, eight memory or five POWERchannel-2 interface boards. The midplane also contains six VME expansion slots and three power board slots.
The Challenge uses a board set known as the POWERpath-2 board set, code named "Everest". The boards that make up this board set are the IP19, IP21, IP25 CPU boards, the MC3 memory board and the IO4 POWERchannel-2 interface board.
The CPU board contains the microprocessors. There are three models of CPU boards: the IP19, IP21 and IP25. The IP19 can be configured with two or four R4400 microprocessors. It also contains five CPU Interface ASICs, four for implementing the data path and one for implementing the address path. These ASICs contain an average of 80,000 gates each. [5] The IP21 supports the R8000 microprocessor and can be configured with one or two such microprocessors. The IP25 supports one, two, or four R10000 microprocessors.
Memory is provided by the MC3 memory board, which contains thirty-two single in-line memory module (SIMM) slots and two leaf controllers. Fast page mode (FPM) error correcting code (ECC) SIMMs with capacities of 16 MB (known as the "high-density" SIMM) and 64 MB (known as the "super-density" SIMM) are supported, enables the board to provide 64 MB to 2 GB of memory. The SIMMs are installed in groups of four.
The memory is organized into eight banks, with four banks forming a leaf. The memory can be interleaved if there are two or more leaves present in the system. The memory bus is 576-bit wide, with a 512-bit path for data and a 64-bit path for ECC. The memory is controlled by the two leaf controllers. Each leaf controller manages four banks of memory and half of a memory transaction. It is therefore connected to 256 bits of the memory bus and 128 bits of the POWERpath-2 bus. [6]
Memory transactions are 128-byte wide, the same width as the cache line of the MIPS microprocessors used. A memory read is completed in two cycles of the memory clock, and is buffered by the leaf controllers before it is placed in a sent over the POWERpath-2 bus in four cycles of the POWERpath-2 bus clock. [6]
The SIMMs are protected by ECC, and the ECC implementation can correct single-bit errors and detect double-bit errors. The SIMMs also contain built-in self-test circuitry, which tests the SIMM during power on or reset and alerts the firmware, which disables the bank(s) of memory containing faulty SIMM(s), if faults are detected. [6]
A motherboard is the main printed circuit board (PCB) in general-purpose computers and other expandable systems. It holds and allows communication between many of the crucial electronic components of a system, such as the central processing unit (CPU) and memory, and provides connectors for other peripherals. Unlike a backplane, a motherboard usually contains significant sub-systems, such as the central processor, the chipset's input/output and memory controllers, interface connectors, and other components integrated for general use.
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.
Sun Enterprise is a range of UNIX server computers produced by Sun Microsystems from 1996 to 2001. The line was launched as the Sun Ultra Enterprise series; the Ultra prefix was dropped around 1998. These systems are based on the 64-bit UltraSPARC microprocessor architecture and related to the contemporary Ultra series of computer workstations. Like the Ultra series, they run Solaris. Various models, from single-processor entry-level servers to large high-end multiprocessor servers were produced. The Enterprise brand was phased out in favor of the Sun Fire model line from 2001 onwards.
The SGI Indigo2 and the SGI Challenge M are Unix workstations which were designed and sold by SGI from 1992 to 1997.
The DECstation was a brand of computers used by DEC, and refers to three distinct lines of computer systems—the first released in 1978 as a word processing system, and the latter two both released in 1989. These comprised a range of computer workstations based on the MIPS architecture and a range of PC compatibles. The MIPS-based workstations ran ULTRIX, a DEC-proprietary version of UNIX, and early releases of OSF/1.
Octane series of IRIX workstations was developed and sold by SGI in the 2000s. Octane and Octane2 are two-way multiprocessing-capable workstations, originally based on the MIPS Technologies R10000 microprocessor. Newer Octanes are based on the R12000 and R14000. The Octane2 has four improvements: a revised power supply, system board, and Xbow ASIC. The Octane2 has VPro graphics and supports all the VPro cards. Later revisions of the Octane include some of the improvements introduced in the Octane2. The codenames for the Octane and Octane2 are "Racer" and "Speedracer" respectively.
The Indy, code-named "Guinness", is a low-end multimedia workstation introduced on July 12, 1993. Silicon Graphics Incorporated (SGI) developed, manufactured, and marketed Indy as the lowest end of its product line, for computer-aided design (CAD), desktop publishing, and multimedia markets. It competed with Intel x86 computers, and with Windows and Macintosh, including using their files and running their applications via software emulation. It is the first computer to come standard with a video camera, called IndyCam. Indy was repackaged as a server model called Challenge S. Indy was discontinued on June 30, 1997 and support ended on December 31, 2011.
The O2 was an entry-level Unix workstation introduced in 1996 by Silicon Graphics, Inc. (SGI) to replace their earlier Indy series. Like the Indy, the O2 used a single MIPS microprocessor and was intended to be used mainly for multimedia. Its larger counterpart was the SGI Octane. The O2 was SGI's last attempt at a low-end workstation.
Altix is a line of server computers and supercomputers produced by Silicon Graphics, based on Intel processors. It succeeded the MIPS/IRIX-based Origin 3000 servers.
The Indigo, introduced as the IRIS Indigo, is a line of workstation computers developed and manufactured by Silicon Graphics, Inc. (SGI). SGI first announced the system in July 1991.
The VAXstation is a discontinued family of workstation computers developed and manufactured by Digital Equipment Corporation using processors implementing the VAX instruction set architecture. VAXstation systems were typically shipped with either the OpenVMS or ULTRIX operating systems. Many members of the VAXstation family had corresponding MicroVAX variants, which primarily differ by the lack of graphics hardware.
The Sun-2 series of UNIX workstations and servers was launched by Sun Microsystems in November 1983. As the name suggests, the Sun-2 represented the second generation of Sun systems, superseding the original Sun-1 series. The Sun-2 series used a 10 MHz Motorola 68010 microprocessor with a proprietary Sun-2 Memory Management Unit (MMU), which enabled it to be the first Sun architecture to run a full virtual memory UNIX implementation, SunOS 1.0, based on 4.1BSD. Early Sun-2 models were based on the Intel Multibus architecture, with later models using VMEbus, which continued to be used in the successor Sun-3 and Sun-4 families.
The R10000, code-named "T5", is a RISC microprocessor implementation of the MIPS IV instruction set architecture (ISA) developed by MIPS Technologies, Inc. (MTI), then a division of Silicon Graphics, Inc. (SGI). The chief designers are Chris Rowen and Kenneth C. Yeager. The R10000 microarchitecture is known as ANDES, an abbreviation for Architecture with Non-sequential Dynamic Execution Scheduling. The R10000 largely replaces the R8000 in the high-end and the R4400 elsewhere. MTI was a fabless semiconductor company; the R10000 was fabricated by NEC and Toshiba. Previous fabricators of MIPS microprocessors such as Integrated Device Technology (IDT) and three others did not fabricate the R10000 as it was more expensive to do so than the R4000 and R4400.
DEC 3000 AXP was the name given to a series of computer workstations and servers, produced from 1992 to around 1995 by Digital Equipment Corporation. The DEC 3000 AXP series formed part of the first generation of computer systems based on the 64-bit Alpha AXP architecture. Supported operating systems for the DEC 3000 AXP series were DEC OSF/1 AXP and OpenVMS AXP.
SGI Onyx is a series of visualization systems designed and manufactured by SGI, introduced in 1993 and offered in two models, deskside and rackmount, codenamed Eveready and Terminator respectively. The Onyx's basic system architecture is based on the SGI Challenge servers, but with graphics hardware.
The DEC 7000 AXP and DEC 10000 AXP are a series of high-end multiprocessor server computers developed and manufactured by Digital Equipment Corporation, introduced on 10 November 1992. These systems formed part of the first generation of systems based on the 64-bit Alpha AXP architecture and at the time of introduction, ran Digital's OpenVMS AXP operating system, with DEC OSF/1 AXP available in March 1993. They were designed in parallel with the VAX 7000 and VAX 10000 minicomputers, and are identical except for the processor module(s) and supported bus interfaces. A field upgrade from a VAX 7000/10000 to a DEC 7000/10000 AXP was possible by means of swapping the processor boards.
The SGI Origin 2000 is a family of mid-range and high-end server computers developed and manufactured by Silicon Graphics (SGI). They were introduced in 1996 to succeed the SGI Challenge and POWER Challenge. At the time of introduction, these ran the IRIX operating system, originally version 6.4 and later, 6.5. A variant of the Origin 2000 with graphics capability is known as the Onyx2. An entry-level variant based on the same architecture but with a different hardware implementation is known as the Origin 200. The Origin 2000 was succeeded by the Origin 3000 in July 2000, and was discontinued on June 30, 2002.
InfiniteReality refers to a 3D graphics hardware architecture and a family of graphics systems that implemented the aforementioned hardware architecture that was developed and manufactured by Silicon Graphics from 1996 to 2005. The InfiniteReality was positioned as Silicon Graphics' high-end visualization hardware for their MIPS/IRIX platform and was used exclusively in their Onyx family of visualization systems, which are sometimes referred to as "graphics supercomputers" or "visualization supercomputers". The InfiniteReality was marketed to and used by large organizations such as companies and universities that are involved in computer simulation, digital content creation, engineering and research.
The VAX 6000 is a discontinued family of minicomputers developed and manufactured by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) using processors implementing the VAX instruction set architecture (ISA). Originally, the VAX 6000 was intended to be a mid-range VAX product line complementing the VAX 8000, but with the introduction of the VAX 6000 Model 400 series, the older VAX 8000 was discontinued in favor of the VAX 6000, which offered slightly higher performance for half the cost. The VAX 6000 family supports Digital's VMS and ULTRIX operating systems.
Since 1985, many processors implementing some version of the MIPS architecture have been designed and used widely.