Message-Passing Performance of Various Computers

This report compares the performance of different computer systems for basic message-passing. Latency and bandwidth are measured on Convex, Cray, IBM, Intel, KSR, Meiko, nCUBE, NEC, SGI, and TMC multiprocessors. Communication performance is contrasted with the computational power of each system. The comparison includes both shared and distributed memory computers as well as networked workstation clusters. 1 Introduction and Motivation 1.1 The Rise of the Microprocessor The past decade has been one of the most exciting periods in computer development that the world has ever experienced. Performance improvements, in particular, have been dramatic; and that trend promises to continue for the next several years. In particular, microprocessor technology has changed rapidly. Microprocessors have become smaller, denser, and more powerful. Indeed, microprocessors have made such progress that, if cars had made equal progress since the day they were invented, we would now be able to buy a car ..