Table of Contents

1. Hardware
   • SP Systems
   • Network Configuration
   • Mass Storage System
   • Visualization Hardware
   • Other Machines

2. Software
   • Applications
   • Installation Locations
   • Software Documentation
   • Future Plans

3. Online Documentation
   • MHPCC WWW Pages
   • IBM's InfoExplorer
   • Anonymous FTP
   • Other Sources of Online Documentation

4. Acknowledgements

---

Hardware

• The MHPCC hardware configuration centers around several IBM SP PowerParallel systems. These systems totalling 595 SP nodes are supported by a network of communications devices, a mass storage system, visualization hardware, file servers, x-terminals, PCs, Macintoshes and peripherals.

SP Systems

• The MHPCC SP systems are comprised of:

  • 368 node SP2 general purpose

  • 51 node P2SC general purpose

  • 8 node 8-way SMP general purpose

  • 16 node training and workshop

  • 3 special purpose systems (16 node, 16 node and 64 node)

  • Grand total of 539 nodes offering over 166 GFLOPS peak performance

• The systems are physically housed in 53 frames:

  • 51 frames - hold actual processors

  • 2 frames - hold only high performance switch hardware

• The SP nodes vary in processor type and disk/memory configuration. For the general purpose systems:

  SP Node Type	Clock (MHz)	MFLOPS	Memory (MB)	Disk (GB)
  Thin	66	266	64 128	1 2
  Wide	66	266	256 256 1024	2 4.5 4.5
  P2SC Thin	120	480	128	4.5
  P2SC Wide	135	540	256	4.5
  SMP nodes (8 way)	112	1792	1024	4.5

• Nodes are categorized as:

  • Interactive
    • Approximately 32 nodes (varies)
    • Telnet to tsunami.sp2.mhpcc.edu . Note that this is address is a "rotating alias" (new node every 5 minutes)
    • Alias distributes users across nodes
    • Bypass alias - login directly to node IP address

  • Batch
    • Approximately 336 nodes (varies)
    • Available only through LoadLeveler (batch scheduler)
    • Nodes subdivided into batch classes
    • Submit only nodes - can't login to these nodes directly

  • Reserved Nodes
    • Used for file servers, boot machines, special requests, special projects
    • Not available for general use
    • May change periodically

• Please check these pages for complete node information BEFORE running/submitting your jobs:

  • Current Node Classification

  • Detailed Configuration

  • What's New

  • LoadLeveler Batch Scheduling System

Network Configuration

• External Connectivity

  • The MHPCC is connected to the Internet by means of a T3 line.

  • Multiple lines (T3 and T1) connect the MHPCC to a Hawaiian Wide Area Network

• Internal Connectivity

  • Two FDDI rings (100MB/sec), an ATM switch and ethernet (10MB/sec) connect most of the general purpose systems

  • HIPPI switch (50MB/sec) connects most of the general purpose systems to the Mass Storage system

  • The nodes in each SP system are internally connected within themselves by a high performance switch (40MB/sec).

  • SP external disk drives are connected to general purpose machines by SCSI (10MB/sec). User home directories and most software packages are NFS mounted from these disks across the SP high performance switch (read=4MB/sec, write=1.5 MB/sec).

Mass Storage System

• Running High Performance Storage System (HPSS) software.

• IBM 3494 Tape Library with IBM 3590 Tape Drives - a robotic tape server with 800MB cartridge tapes - with a current capacity of 20 Terabytes. Archived files are staged to the Max Strat server over a HIPPI channel.

• Maximum Strategy Inc. GEN5-XL2 Disk Array (188 GB) - used for high speed disk cache. Data transfer occurs over HIPPI channel (50MB/sec) to general purpose SP systems.

• Mass storage system server is an RS/6000 990. Connected to the tape archive by SCSI, to the disk array by ethernet and HIPPI and to the general purpose SP systems by both ethernet and HIPPI.

• IBM 7134 Disk Subsystem (18 GB)

Visualization Hardware

• The MHPCC Vizualization Lab includes a number of SGI machines used primarily by onsite visitors/researchers or local users.

  Machine Name	Model	Clock (MHz)	MFLOPs	Memory (MB)	Disk (GB)
  onyx1	SGI Onyx (4)	200 x 4	800	256	4
  indigo1	SGI Indigo 2	150	150	32	1
  indigo2	SGI Indigo 2	150	150	32	1
  indigo3	SGI Indigo 2	150	150	64	1
  indigo4	SGI Indigo 2	150	150	64	1
  indigo5	SGI Indigo 2	150	150	64	1
  indigo6	SGI Indigo 2	150	150	64	1
  indy1	SGI Indy	100	100	32	1
  indy2	SGI Indy	100	100	32	1

Other Machines

• The MHPCC employs a number of different machines for various purposes:
  • File servers
  • Control workstations
  • Mass storage system server
  • Training / Workshop
  • DNS, NIS, News servers
  • WWW and anonymous FTP server
  • Mail servers
  • Testing
  • Guest machines
  • Staff machines
  • other special purposes

• Most of these machines are inaccessible to users. Unless otherwise directed, users not attempt use any machine which is not an SP or Visualization machine.

Software
Applications

• The MHPCC offers a number of software applications in the following categories:

  • System Software

  • Message Passing Libraries / Parallel Tools

  • Compilers / Preprocessors / Debuggers

  • Math Subroutine Libraries

  • Image Processing / Visualization / Graphics

  • Molecular Modeling / Quantum Chemistry

  • CFD / Electrical and Mechanical Engineering

  • UNIX and Local Utilities / Information Software

• Detailed information for specific software packages can be found on the MHPCC software pages. NOTE: Our software pages are being overhauled! You may find outdated material or incomplete information during our transition. Please contact the helpdesk if you have any questions.

Installation Locations

• Most application software is NFS mounted to the general purpose systems from the following directories:

     
       /s/pd             -public domain
       /s/vendorcode     -vendor supported
       /s/local          -other
       /usr/nfs/packages -new location for latest/future software
  

  According to the following scheme:

  
       discipline/package/files
  

  where:

  
       discipline = math, chemistry, visualization, etc.
       package    = application name
       files      = binaries, libraries, documentation, etc.
  

• Most IBM software is installed in /usr/lpp

• A few "special case" software applications don't adhere to the above rules. Exceptions will always be noted in the software pages.

• Users should add /usr/nfs/bin to their path to reach important software and utilities installed there.

Software Documentation

• Documentation for software installed on the general purpose systems can include any of the following:

  • Man pages

  • Read me files

  • PostScript documents

  • On-line help (internal to the application)

  • HTML documents

  • InfoExplorer (IBM's on-line manuals)

  • Web links to Vendor materials

• For documentation that is included with the package distribution, be sure to check its install directory. The MHPCC does not maintain a central repository of all software documentation.

• Users should also update their MANPATH environment variable to include /usr/nfs/man and /s/local/man for the man pages installed there

Future Plans

• The MHPCC is continually ordering and installing new software packages that will meet its users needs. We strive to keep existing software up to date. Periodically we review packages for usefulness and remove any that are outdated or unused.

• All users are encouraged to send suggestions for software acquisitions, the on-line software pages and documentation to the User Services Consultants.

• Please send suggestions by email to help@mhpcc.edu or fill out our Software Request Form.

Online Documentation
MHPCC WWW Pages

• Nearly everything users need to know about the MHPCC can be found on the Center's WWW server, located at:

  
  http://www.mhpcc.edu
  

• You do not need a WWW browser installed at your local site to access our WWW server. If you don't have access to one you can login to an MHPCC machine and run the browser from there. Click here for instructions.

• If you can't find your answer(s) in our web pages, send email to us at help@mhpcc.edu.

• Important links to check out:

  • What's New - News and information posted daily --Read it often!

  • Technical Documentation - Main page for documentation topics

  • Tutorials, Workshop Discussions and Example Codes - Need to learn about Message Passing or the Batch Scheduler..? Look here for instructions and examples!

  • Accounts - Different types and how to get one.

  • Resource Limits - Disk, CPU and Mass Storage.

  • Frequently Asked Questions - Reference for new users or users new to an application!

  • Application and Special Request Forms - Need a dedicated run..? Want more disk space..? Have an application you want installed..? Or just need an account..? Request it here!

  • Acceptable Use Policy

  • Password Policy

  • User Services - 24x7 coverage, helpdesk hours and technical consulting.

• REMEMBER -- this is just a sampling of what's on our homepage. Get to know the MHPCC and see what we have to offer!

IBM's InfoExplorer

• InfoExplorer provides an ascii or X-based utility for accessing most of IBM's product documentation.

• We have the following IBM manuals in InfoExplorer format:

  IBM PRODUCT	X COMMAND	ASCII COMMAND
  AIX InfoExplorer	info	info -a
  XL FORTRAN	info -l xlf	info -a -l xlf
  XL C Compiler	info -l c	info -a -l c
  XL C++ Compiler Set	info -l cset	info -a -l cset
  LoadLeveler	info -l LoadL	info -a -l LoadL
  ESSL	info -l essl	info -a -l essl
  PESSL	info -l pessl	info -a -l pessl
  Parallel Environment	info -l pe	info -a -l pe
  PVMe	info -l pvm3	info -a -l pvm3
  SP2 Systems Support	info -l sp2	info -a -l sp2

• Click here for instructions on using IBMs InfoExplorer from MHPCC machines.

Anonymous FTP

• To access our anonymous FTP archive, ftp from any machine to: ftp.mhpcc.edu

• Go to the pub directory and get the README file - review this file before continuing.

• The contents of the pub directory are subject to change and may not always be up to date with our online materials.

• Currently, postscript versions of documentation and training materials are available.

Other Sources of Online Documentation

• Consult vendor WWW servers. Most software vendors have web pages which include product information and documentation. For example, IBM's homepage (http://www.ibm.com) is an excellent source for complete documentation.

• Ordering IBM Manuals: see the Services and Support section on IBM's Homepage .

• The MOTD (Message of the Day) reflects system status and last minute changes that can greatly effect users. Review the messages contained in the MOTD each time you log in --Messages Change!

Acknowledgements

The MHPCC wishes to acknowledge and thank all vendors and software suppliers who provided information used in this tutorial.

© Copyright 1994 Maui High Performance Computing Center. All rights reserved.

Documents located on the Maui High Performance Computing Center's WWW server are copyrighted by the MHPCC. Educational institutions are encouraged to reproduce and distribute these materials for educational use as long as credit and notification are provided. Please retain this copyright notice and include this statement with any copies that you make. Also, the MHPCC requests that you send notification of their use to help@mail.mhpcc.edu.

Commercial use of these materials is prohibited without prior written permission.

Revised: 9 January 1997 blaise@mhpcc.edu