Extensible message layers for resource-rich cluster computers

Cluster computing is an alternative approach to supercomputing where a large number of commodity workstations are utilized as the processing elements in a multiprocessor system. These workstations are interconnected by high-performance system area network hardware and specially designed “message layer” communication software. In the current generation of cluster computers, researchers have optimized message layers for communication between the host CPUs in the cluster. However, the recent development of a number of high-performance peripheral devices challenges the notion that message layers should be designed in such a CPU-centric manner. Modern peripheral devices feature powerful embedded processing and storage capabilities that can be leveraged to boost the performance of distributed applications. These peripherals function as sources and sinks of application data, and as computational accelerators for offloading host-CPU tasks.; The inclusion of these powerful peripheral devices in the cluster architecture results in a new generation of systems that we refer to as resource-rich cluster computers. These systems differ from traditional clusters in that application processing takes place in both the host CPUs and the peripheral devices. Current generation message layers are ill equipped to service the needs of resource-rich clusters, as they are not designed to utilize peripheral devices as globally accessible cluster resources.; This thesis focuses on the challenge of designing extensible message layers for this new generation of resource-rich clusters. We are specifically concerned with making peripheral devices available as globally accessible resources in the context of a programming model that permits applications to effectively and efficiently exploit the capabilities afforded by resource-rich clusters. The key contributions of this thesis fall into two categories. The messages layers to integrate powerful peripheral devices into a globally accessible pool of resources. The second class of contributions is engineering solutions to the challenging problems of effectively and efficiently realizing these design concepts in a manner that tracks the evolution of technology, that is, the continued migration of computing power to distributed resources.