which models use NUMA?

[Doug O'Leary]

Hey;

Non-uniform memory architecture: is that used only in cell based systems? If that's not the case, could someone let me know what models use NUMA?

I've got a dba asking questions... grrr.... They'll probably be as annoyed with me, though, when I take the oracle classes in a few months.

Thanks for any info.

Doug O'Leary

[Don Morris_1 · Accepted solution]

Technically -- HP-UX only supports ccNUMA [cache-coherent NUMA]. There are platforms out there that do NUMA with incoherent caches (not HP), hence I'm kind of a stickler on this.

Yes -- for now, only Cell based systems are ccNUMA (I don't believe the current blades use an interconnect such that you can group them into a Partition, which is what you'd need for a blade based ccNUMA).

No comments on future platforms, obviously.

[rick jones]

The cell-based systems which are cc/NUMA are:

*) All the Superdomes, PA and Integrity
*) All the rx[78]6XXs
*) All the rp74[24]XXs
*) All the rp84xxs

Basically anything using the sx2000, sx1000 or some of the previous unnamed Superdome CECs.

Of course, while they are cc/NUMA, on most if not all of those, one can configure the system to be anywhere from 100% to 0% ILM (global InterLeaved Memory) which for all incense and porpoises will make them look like a cc/UMA as it interleaves the memory across the cells on a cacheline basis.

Or, looked at the other way, from 0 to 100% CLM or Cell Local Memory in which case the interleaving is only within the cell and it looks like cc/NUMA.

The zx1 and zx2 based systems are strictly bus-based cc/UMA systems:

*) rx[12346]6XX
*) rp[234]4XX
*) rp74[10]0
*) even older PA-RISC systems

[Doug O'Leary]

Thank you, gentlemen, for very clear and concise answers.

Doug O'Leary