Roadrunner (supercomputer)

{{Short description|Former supercomputer built by IBM}} {{Other uses|Roadrunner (disambiguation)}} {{Infobox custom computer | Image = [[File:Roadrunner supercomputer HiRes.jpg|200px]] | Caption = Roadrunner components | Dates = Operational in 2008 Final completion in 2009 | Operators = [[National Nuclear Security Administration]] | Sponsors = [[IBM]] | Location = [[Los Alamos National Laboratory]] | Architecture = 12,960 IBM [[Cell (microprocessor)|PowerXCell 8i]] CPUs, 6,480 AMD [[Opteron]] dual-core processors, [[InfiniBand]] | Memory = 103.6 [[TiB]] | Storage = 1,000,000 TiB | Speed = 1.042 [[petaFLOPS]] | OS = [[Red Hat Enterprise Linux]] | Power = 2.35 [[Megawatt|MW]] | Space = 296 racks, {{convert|560|m2|sqft|abbr=on}} | Cost = US$100 million<ref name=ibmpress /> (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|100|2008}} million in {{Inflation/year|US}}) | ChartName = [[TOP500]] | ChartPosition = 10 | ChartDate = June 2011 | Purpose = Modeling the decay of the U.S. nuclear arsenal | Legacy = First TOP500 [[LINPACK benchmarks|Linpack]] sustained 1.0 petaflops, May 25, 2008 | Emulators = | Website = {{url|http://www.lanl.gov/roadrunner/}}{{Dead link|date=March 2024}} | Sources = }} '''Roadrunner''' was a [[supercomputer]] built by [[IBM]] for the [[Los Alamos National Laboratory]] in New Mexico, USA. The US$100-million Roadrunner was designed for a peak performance of 1.7 [[FLOPS|petaflops]]. It achieved 1.026 petaflops on May 25, 2008, to become the world's first [[TOP500]] [[LINPACK benchmarks|LINPACK]] sustained 1.0 petaflops system.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=hardware&articleId=9095318&taxonomyId=12&intsrc=kc_top |title=IBM's Roadrunner smashes 4-minute mile of supercomputing |access-date=2008-06-10 |first=Sharon |last=Gaudin |date=2008-06-09 |work=Computerworld |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081224001155/http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=hardware&articleId=9095318&taxonomyId=12&intsrc=kc_top |archive-date=2008-12-24 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7443557.stm | work=BBC News | title=Supercomputer sets petaflop pace | access-date=2008-06-09 | date=2008-06-09 | first=Jonathan | last=Fildes | archive-date=2009-01-04 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090104004433/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7443557.stm | url-status=live }}</ref>

In November 2008, it reached a top performance of 1.456 [[petaFLOPS]], retaining its top spot in the [[TOP500]] list.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.top500.org/lists/2008/11 |title=TOP500 Supercomputer Sites |work=top500.org |date=11 November 2008 |access-date=22 June 2009 |archive-date=6 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180906051921/https://www.top500.org/lists/2008/11/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It was also the fourth-most energy-efficient supercomputer in the world on the [[Supermicro]] Green500 list, with an operational rate of 444.94 megaflops per watt of power used. The hybrid Roadrunner design was then reused for several other energy efficient supercomputers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.green500.org/lists/green200906 |title=The Green500 List — June 2009 |work=The Green500 |access-date=2013-04-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512030333/http://www.green500.org/lists/green200906 |archive-date=2013-05-12 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Roadrunner was decommissioned by Los Alamos on March 31, 2013.<ref name=AP>{{cite news|title=End of the Line for Roadrunner Supercomputer |url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/end-line-roadrunner-supercomputer |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402160104/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/end-line-roadrunner-supercomputer |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 April 2015 | agency=The Associated Press|date=30 March 2013|first=Susan|last=Montoya}}</ref> In its place, Los Alamos commissioned a supercomputer called [[Cielo (supercomputer)|Cielo]], which was installed in 2010.

==Overview==

IBM built the computer for the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) [[National Nuclear Security Administration]] (NNSA).<ref>{{cite press release | url=http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/20210.wss | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070224122420/http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/20210.wss | url-status=dead | archive-date=February 24, 2007 | publisher=IBM | title=IBM to Build World's First Cell Broadband Engine Based Supercomputer | access-date=2008-05-31 | date=2006-09-06 }}</ref><ref>{{cite press release | url=http://nnsa.energy.gov/news/1015.htm | publisher=NNSA | title=IBM Selected to Build New DOE Supercomputer | access-date=2008-05-31 | date=2006-09-06 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080618162000/http://nnsa.energy.gov/news/1015.htm  |archive-date = 2008-06-18}}</ref> It was a hybrid design with 12,960 IBM [[Cell (microprocessor)|PowerXCell 8i]]<ref>{{cite web |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081011055756/http://www.top500.org/blog/2008/06/09/international_supercomputing_conference_host_first_panel_discussion_breaking_petaflop_s_barrier |archive-date=11 October 2008 |url=http://www.top500.org/blog/2008/06/09/international_supercomputing_conference_host_first_panel_discussion_breaking_petaflop_s_barrier |title=International Supercomputing Conference to Host First Panel Discussion on Breaking the Petaflops Barrier |work=TOP500 Supercomputing Sites |date=9 June 2008 |access-date=11 October 2015}}</ref> and 6,480 AMD [[Opteron]] dual-core processors<ref name="OVERVIEW"/> in specially designed [[blade server]]s connected by [[InfiniBand]]. The Roadrunner used [[Red Hat Enterprise Linux]] along with [[Fedora (operating system)|Fedora]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sti.cc.gatech.edu/SC07-BOF/06-Borrett.pdf|first=Ann|last=Borrett|title=Roadrunner - Integrated Hybrid Node|year=2007|access-date=2009-06-30|archive-date=2008-10-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010180011/http://sti.cc.gatech.edu/SC07-BOF/06-Borrett.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> as its operating systems, and was managed with [[xCAT]] [[distributed computing]] software. It also used the [[Open MPI]] [[Message Passing Interface]] implementation.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.open-mpi.org/papers/sc-2008/jsquyres-cisco-booth-talk-1up.pdf | first=Jeff | last=Squyres | publisher=Open MPI | title=Open MPI: 10^15 Flops Can't Be Wrong | access-date=2008-11-22 | archive-date=2021-02-23 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210223014051/https://www.open-mpi.org/papers/sc-2008/jsquyres-cisco-booth-talk-1up.pdf | url-status=live }}</ref>

Roadrunner occupied approximately 296 server racks<ref name=Ars1 /> which covered {{convert|560|m2|sqft}}<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.ibm.com/news/us/en/2008/06/09/d074803y96972a84.html | publisher=IBM | title=Los Alamos computer breaks petaflop barrier | access-date=2008-06-12 | date=2008-06-09 | archive-date=2011-07-28 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728190006/http://www.ibm.com/news/us/en/2008/06/09/d074803y96972a84.html | url-status=live }}</ref> and became operational in 2008. It was decommissioned March 31, 2013.<ref name=Ars1>{{cite web | url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/03/worlds-fastest-supercomputer-from-09-is-now-obsolete-will-be-dismantled/ | title=World's top supercomputer from '09 is now obsolete, will be dismantled | publisher=Ars Technica | access-date=March 31, 2013 | first=Jon | last=Brodkin | date=31 March 2013 | archive-date=31 March 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130331203506/http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/03/worlds-fastest-supercomputer-from-09-is-now-obsolete-will-be-dismantled/ | url-status=live }}</ref> The DOE used the computer for simulating how nuclear materials age in order to predict whether the USA's aging arsenal of nuclear weapons are both safe and reliable. Other uses for the Roadrunner included the science, financial, automotive, and aerospace industries.

==Hybrid design==

Roadrunner differed from other contemporary supercomputers because it continued the hybrid approach<ref name=Ars1 /> to supercomputer design introduced by [[Seymour Cray]] in 1964 with the [[Control Data Corporation]] [[CDC 6600]] and continued with the order of magnitude faster [[CDC 7600]] in 1969. However, in this architecture the peripheral processors were used only for operating system functions and all applications ran in the one central processor. Most previous supercomputers had only used one processor architecture, since it was thought to be easier to design and program for. To realize the full potential of Roadrunner, all software had to be written specially for this hybrid architecture. The hybrid design consisted of [[dual-core]] [[Opteron]] server processors manufactured by [[Advanced Micro Devices|AMD]] using the standard [[AMD64]] [[instruction set|architecture]]. Attached to each Opteron core is an IBM-designed and -fabricated [[PowerXCell 8i]] processor. As a supercomputer, the Roadrunner was considered an Opteron cluster with Cell accelerators, as each node consists of a Cell attached to an Opteron core and the Opterons to each other.<ref name="BarkerDavis2008">{{cite book|last1=Barker|first1=Kevin J.|last2=Davis|first2=Kei|last3=Hoisie|first3=Adolfy|last4=Kerbyson|first4=Darren J.|last5=Lang|first5=Mike|last6=Pakin|first6=Scott|last7=Sancho|first7=Jose C.|title=2008 SC - International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage and Analysis |chapter=Entering the petaflop era: The architecture and performance of Roadrunner |pages=1–11|doi=10.1109/SC.2008.5217926|access-date=2013-04-02|chapter-url=http://www.cse.psu.edu/~raghavan/cse598C/RoadrunnerSC08-CR-final.doc.pdf|year=2008|isbn=978-1-4244-2834-2|s2cid=7844349 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110813133941/http://www.cse.psu.edu/~raghavan/cse598C/RoadrunnerSC08-CR-final.doc.pdf|archive-date=2011-08-13|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[File:CSC FF.jpg|thumb|IBM Engineers and Analysts pose in front of a small portion of the Roadrunner Super Computer]]

==Development== Roadrunner was in development from 2002 and went online in 2006. Due to its novel design and complexity it was constructed in three phases and became fully operational in 2008. Its predecessor was a machine also developed at Los Alamos named Dark Horse.<ref>{{cite web |title=DarkHorse: a Proposed PetaScale Architecture |first=Steve |last=Poole |work=Los Alamos National Laboratory |date=September 2006 |url=http://archive.ll.mit.edu/HPEC/agendas/proc06/Day2/27_Poole_Panel.pdf |access-date=11 October 2015 |archive-date=22 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211022141121/https://archive.ll.mit.edu/HPEC/agendas/proc06/Day2/27_Poole_Panel.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> This machine was one of the earliest hybrid architecture systems originally based on ARM and then moved to the Cell processor. It was entirely a 3D design, its design integrated 3D memory, networking, processors and a number of other technologies.

===Phase 1=== The first phase of the Roadrunner was building a standard Opteron based cluster, while evaluating the feasibility to further construct and program the future hybrid version. This Phase 1 Roadrunner reached 71 teraflops and was in full operation at Los Alamos National Laboratory in 2006.

===Phase 2=== Phase 2 known as AAIS (Advanced Architecture Initial System) included building a small hybrid version of the finished system using an older version of the Cell processor. This phase was used to build prototype applications for the hybrid architecture. It went online in January 2007.

===Phase 3=== [[File:Roadrunner_undergoing_system_test_in_Poughkeepsie_in_June_2008_Image_1.jpg|thumb|Roadrunner undergoing system test in Poughkeepsie in June 2008]] The goal of Phase 3 was to reach sustained performance in excess of 1 petaflops. Additional Opteron nodes and new PowerXCell processors were added to the design. These PowerXCell processors are five times as powerful as the Cell processors used in Phase 2. It was built to full scale at IBM’s [[Poughkeepsie, New York]] facility,<ref name="ibmpress">{{cite web | url=http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/24405.wss | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130103042624/http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/24405.wss | url-status=dead | archive-date=January 3, 2013 | title=Fact Sheet & Background: Roadrunner Smashes the Petaflop Barrier | publisher=IBM | access-date=April 1, 2013|date=9 June 2008}}</ref> where it broke the 1 petaflops barrier during its fourth attempt on May 25, 2008. The complete system was moved to its permanent location in New Mexico in the summer of 2008.<ref name=ibmpress />

==Technical specifications==

===Processors=== Roadrunner used two different models of processors. The first is the '''AMD [[Opteron|Opteron 2210]]''', running at 1.8 GHz. Opterons are used both in the computational nodes feeding the Cells with useful data and in the system operations and communication nodes passing data between computing nodes and helping the operators running the system. Roadrunner has a total of 6,912 Opteron processors with 6,480 used for computation and 432 for operation. The Opterons are connected together by [[HyperTransport]] links. Each Opteron has two cores for a total 13,824 cores.

The second processor is the '''IBM [[Cell (microprocessor)|PowerXCell 8i]]''', running at 3.2 GHz. These processors have one general purpose core (PPE), and eight special performance cores (SPE) for [[floating point]] operations. Roadrunner has a total of 12,960 PowerXCell processors, with 12,960 PPE cores and 103,680 SPE cores, for a total of 116,640 cores.

===TriBlade=== [[Image:TriBlade.png|thumb|upright=1.5|A schematic description of the TriBlade module.]] Logically, a '''TriBlade''' consists of two dual-core Opterons with 16 [[Gigabyte|GB]] [[RAM]] and four PowerXCell 8i CPUs with 16 GB Cell RAM.<ref name="OVERVIEW">{{cite web|url=http://www.lanl.gov/orgs/hpc/roadrunner/pdfs/Koch%20-%20Roadrunner%20Overview/RR%20Seminar%20-%20System%20Overview.pdf|publisher=Los Alamos National Laboratory|title=Roadrunner Platform Overview|access-date=2008-05-31|date=2008-03-13|first=Ken|last=Koch|archive-date=2013-10-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023065617/http://www.lanl.gov/orgs/hpc/roadrunner/pdfs/Koch%20-%20Roadrunner%20Overview/RR%20Seminar%20-%20System%20Overview.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

Physically, a TriBlade consists of one [[IBM BladeCenter#LS21|LS21]] [[Opteron]] [[Blade server|blade]], an expansion blade, and two [[IBM BladeCenter#QS22|QS22]] [[Cell (microprocessor)|Cell]] blades. The LS21 has two 1.8 GHz dual-core Opterons with 16 GB memory for the whole blade, providing 8GB for each CPU. Each QS22 has two PowerXCell 8i CPUs, running at 3.2 GHz and 8 GB memory, which makes 4 GB for each CPU. The expansion blade connects the two QS22 via four [[PCIe]] x8 links to the LS21, two links for each QS22. It also provides outside connectivity via an [[InfiniBand]] 4x DDR adapter. This makes a total width of four slots for a single TriBlade. Three TriBlades fit into one [[IBM BladeCenter#IBM BladeCenter H|BladeCenter H]] chassis. The expansion blade is connected to the Opteron blade via HyperTransport.

===Connected Unit (CU)=== A '''Connected Unit''' is 60 BladeCenter H full of TriBlades, that is 180 TriBlades. All TriBlades are connected to a 288-port Voltaire ISR2012 Infiniband switch. Each CU also has access to the [[Panasas]] [[file system]] through twelve [[Lenovo System x|System x3755]] servers.<ref name="OVERVIEW"/>

CU system information:<ref name="OVERVIEW"/> * 360 dual-core Opterons with 2.88 [[Tebibyte|TiB]] [[RAM]]. * 720 PowerXCell 8i cores with 2.88 TiB RAM. * 12 System x3755 with dual 10-GBit Ethernet each. * 288-port Voltaire ISR2012 switch with 192 Infiniband 4x DDR links (180 TriBlades and twelve I/O nodes).

===Roadrunner cluster=== [[Image:Roadrunner-schematic.png|thumb|300px|A schematic overview of the tiered composition of the Roadrunner supercomputer cluster.]] The final [[Computer cluster|cluster]] is made up of 18 connected units, which are connected via eight additional (second-stage) Infiniband ISR2012 switches. Each CU is connected through twelve uplinks for each second-stage switch, which makes a total of 96 uplink connections.<ref name="OVERVIEW"/>

Overall system information:<ref name="OVERVIEW"/> * 6,480 Opteron processors with 51.8 TiB RAM (in 3,240 LS21 blades) * 12,960 Cell processors with 51.8 TiB RAM (in 6,480 QS22 blades) * 216 System x3755 I/O nodes * 26 288-port ISR2012 Infiniband 4x DDR switches * 296 racks * 2.345 [[Megawatt|MW]] power<ref name=Ars1 />

==Shutdown==

IBM Roadrunner was shut down on March 31, 2013.<ref name=Ars1 /> While the supercomputer was one of the fastest in the world, its energy efficiency was relatively low. Roadrunner delivered 444 megaflops per watt vs the 886 megaflops per watt of a comparable supercomputer.<ref name="2012top500">{{cite web | url=http://top500.org/list/2012/11/ | title=Top500 List - November 2012 | publisher=[[TOP500]] | access-date=April 2, 2013 | archive-date=August 26, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826135532/http://www.top500.org/list/2012/11/ | url-status=dead }}</ref> Before the supercomputer is dismantled, researchers will spend one month performing memory and data routing experiments that will aid in designing future supercomputers.<ref name=Ars1 />

After IBM Roadrunner is dismantled, the electronics will be shredded.<ref name="ars2">{{cite web | url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/04/worlds-first-petascale-supercomputer-will-be-shredded-to-bits/ | title=World's first petascale supercomputer will be shredded to bits | date=April 2013 | publisher=Ars Technica | access-date=April 1, 2013 | archive-date=April 3, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130403015810/http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/04/worlds-first-petascale-supercomputer-will-be-shredded-to-bits/ | url-status=live }}</ref> Los Alamos will perform the majority of the supercomputer's destruction, citing the classified nature of its calculations. Some of its parts will be retained for historical purposes.<ref name=ars2 />

==See also== {{commons category}} *[[Central processing unit]] *[[Computer architecture]] *[[Computer science]] *[[Computing]] *[[Multi-core processor]]

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==External links== *{{cite web |url=https://www.lanl.gov/about/mission/advanced-simulation-and-computing/platforms |publisher=Los Alamos National Laboratory |title=Los Alamos National Laboratory Roadrunner Home Page |access-date=2008-05-31 |date=2007-03-30}} *{{cite web |url = http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9085021 |publisher = Computerworld |title = In Pictures: A look inside what may be the world's fastest supercomputer |access-date = 2008-05-31 |date = 2008-05-13 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120612020928/http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9085021/In_Pictures_A_look_inside_what_may_be_the_world_s_fastest_supercomputer |archive-date = 2012-06-12 }} * {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20090123050510/http://www.worldsmostunique.com/worldsfastestcomputer.php World's Fastest Computer]}}

{{S-start}} {{s-ach|rec}} {{s-bef|before=[[IBM Blue Gene|Blue Gene/L]] 478.20 teraflops}} {{s-ttl|title=[[TOP500|World's most powerful supercomputer]]|years=June 2008 – November 2009}} {{s-aft|after=[[Jaguar (supercomputer)|Jaguar]] 1.75 petaflops}} {{S-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roadrunner}} [[Category:2008 in science]] [[Category:2013 in science]] [[Category:Cell BE architecture]] [[Category:IBM supercomputers]] [[Category:One-of-a-kind computers]] [[Category:Petascale computers]] [[Category:Los Alamos National Laboratory]] [[Category:64-bit computers]] [[Category:Computer-related introductions in 2008]] [[Category:2013 disestablishments in the United States]]