Making Use of Multi-Processors
David Barkai · 2023
An approach to applying multiple processors was to attach coprocessors of many small processing elements to host computers. Partly paving the way, and partly a demonstration of an approach different than that of the integrated multi-processor systems, were a couple of one-off configurations that deserve a mention. One is a weather modeling system from the ‘60s, the other a computational chemistry project in the ‘80s. The Self Consistent Field part was migrated to the attached array processor (the FPS system) which then became a workhorse for the department. Soon after, Clementi bought more FPS-164s until users had ten of them. Each of the attached processors was connected to one of two mid-range IBM mainframes. The most common, and enduring, use of multiprocessors in HPC in the ‘80s was on Cray systems. Cray Research had to develop tools that will assist the application programmer in using multiple processors by a single application code.