The Origin 3000 and the Onyx 3000 is a family of mid-range and high-end computers developed and manufactured by
SGI. The Origin 3000 is a
server
Server may refer to:
Computing
*Server (computing), a computer program or a device that provides functionality for other programs or devices, called clients
Role
* Waiting staff, those who work at a restaurant or a bar attending customers and su ...
, and the Onyx 3000 is a
visualization
Visualization or visualisation may refer to:
* Visualization (graphics), the physical or imagining creation of images, diagrams, or animations to communicate a message
* Data visualization, the graphic representation of data
* Information visuali ...
system. Both systems were introduced in July 2000 to succeed the
Origin 2000
The SGI Origin 2000 is a family of mid-range and high-end Server (computing), server computers developed and manufactured by Silicon Graphics (SGI). They were introduced in 1996 to succeed the SGI Challenge and POWER Challenge. At the time of in ...
and the
Onyx2 respectively. These systems ran the
IRIX 6.5 Advanced Server Environment operating system
An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs.
Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also i ...
. Entry-level variants of these systems based on the same architecture but with a different hardware implementation are known as the
Origin 300 and
Onyx 300. The Origin 3000 was succeeded by the
Altix 3000 in 2004 and the last model was discontinued on 29 December 2006, while the Onyx 3000 was succeeded by the
Onyx4 and the Itanium-based
Prism
Prism usually refers to:
* Prism (optics), a transparent optical component with flat surfaces that refract light
* Prism (geometry), a kind of polyhedron
Prism may also refer to:
Science and mathematics
* Prism (geology), a type of sedimentary ...
in 2004 and the last model was discontinued on 25 March 2005.
Origin 3000
Models
Special
* Origin 3200C - This model was a cluster of nodes that consist of entire Origin 3200 systems. This model could scale to thousands of processors. The clustering technology used was gigabit
Ethernet
Ethernet () is a family of wired computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 1 ...
and
Infiniband
InfiniBand (IB) is a computer networking communications standard used in high-performance computing that features very high throughput and very low latency. It is used for data interconnect both among and within computers. InfiniBand is also use ...
.
Hardware description
Physically, the Origin 3000 is based on "bricks" - rackmounted modules that provide a specific function, that are connected together using
NUMAlink 3 cables for modules providing compute functions, or Crosstown2 cables for modules providing I/O functions. These bricks are mounted in a standard 19-inch rack. There are two racks for the Origin 3000, a 17U-high short rack, and a 39U-high tall rack.
Architecturally, the Origin 3000 is based on the
distributed shared memory
In computer science, distributed shared memory (DSM) is a form of memory architecture where physically separated memories can be addressed as a single shared address space. The term "shared" does not mean that there is a single centralized memor ...
NUMAflex architecture. The NUMAlink 3 system interconnect uses a
fat tree
The fat tree network is a universal network for provably efficient communication. It was invented by Charles E. Leiserson of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1985. k-ary n-trees, the type of fat-trees commonly used in most high-perf ...
hypercube network topology.
C-brick
The C-brick is a 3U-high enclosure that contains a node on a
PCB
PCB may refer to:
Science and technology
* Polychlorinated biphenyl, an organic chlorine compound, now recognized as an environmental toxin and classified as a persistent organic pollutant
* Printed circuit board, a board used in electronics
* ...
. The node contains two or four processors, the local and directory memory, and the Bedrock
ASIC. It connects to the system using NUMAlink 3.
= Processor
=
The two processors and their secondary caches is contained on a PIMM (Processor Integrated Memory Module) daughter card that plugs into two 240-pin connectors on the node board. Initially, the Origin 3000 used the 360 MHz
R12000
The R10000, code-named "T5", is a RISC microprocessor implementation of the MIPS IV instruction set architecture (ISA) developed by MIPS Technologies, Inc. (MTI), then a division of Silicon Graphics, Inc. (SGI). The chief designers are Chris Rowe ...
and the 400 MHz
R12000A processors with 4 or 8 MB of secondary cache. In May 2001, the 500 MHz
R14000 was introduced with 8 MB of secondary cache and in February 2002, the 600 MHz
R14000A was made available. Near the end of its lifetime, the C-brick was updated with 800 MHz MIPS processors.
= Local and directory memory
=
The C-Brick supports 512 MB to 8 GB of local memory through eight
DIMM
A DIMM () (Dual In-line Memory Module), commonly called a RAM stick, comprises a series of dynamic random-access memory integrated circuits. These memory modules are mounted on a printed circuit board and designed for use in personal computers ...
slots organised into eight banks by using proprietary 100 MHz
ECC DDR SDRAM
Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DDR SDRAM) is a double data rate (DDR) synchronous dynamic random-access memory (SDRAM) class of memory integrated circuits used in computers. DDR SDRAM, also retroactively called DDR1 ...
DIMMs with capacities of 256 MB, 512 MB and 1 GB. The data path between the DIMM and the Bedrock ASIC is 144 bits wide, with 128 bits for data and 16 bits for ECC. Because the Origin 3000 uses a distributed shared memory model, directory memory is used to maintain cache coherency between the processors. Unlike the Origin 2000, which requires dedicated proprietary DIMMs for the directory memory, the Origin 3000's directory memory is integrated in the same DIMMs that contain the local memory. Due to this, there are two kinds of DIMM used in the Origin 3000: standard DIMMs, which supports systems with up to 128 processors, and premium DIMMs, which supports systems with more than 128 processors. The 256 MB DIMM is a standard DIMM, the 1 GB DIMM is a premium DIMM and the 512 MB DIMM can be either.
= Bedrock ASIC
=
The Bedrock ASIC connects the processors, local and directory memory and the Crosstown2 interface to the NUMAlink 3 system interconnect using a
crossbar. The ASIC contains six major sections: the crossbar (XB), two processor interfaces (PI_0 and PI_1), the memory and directory interface (MD), the I/O interface, (II) and the network interface (NI). The interfaces communicate with each other via
FIFO buffers that are connected to the crossbar.
It also serves as the memory controller. Although each PIMM contains two microprocessors, but only has one 1.6 GB/s interface to the Bedrock ASIC, the single interface is
multiplexed
In telecommunications and computer networking, multiplexing (sometimes contracted to muxing) is a method by which multiple analog or digital signals are combined into one signal over a shared medium. The aim is to share a scarce resource - a ...
to enable the two processors on each PIMM to operate independently without
bus contention
Bus contention is an undesirable state in computer design where more than one device on a bus attempts to place values on it at the same time.
Bus contention is the kind of telecommunication contention that occurs when all communicating devi ...
at the cost of reduced bandwidth.
CX-brick
The CX-brick is a 4U-high enclosure that is only used in Origin 3900 and Onyx 3900 systems. It differs from the C-brick by containing four node boards and eight-port router ASIC. The CX-brick can support up to 16 processors and 32 GB of memory. The CX-brick initially used the IP53 motherboard that supported 500 MHz R14000 and 600 MHz R14000A processors with 8 MB secondary caches, later upgraded to use the R16000 and R16000A. It connects to the system using NUMAlink 3.
R-brick
The R-brick is a 2U-high enclosure that features an eight-port router ASIC. Its purpose is to route NUMAlink packets throughout the system to connect the C-Bricks together. R-bricks for the Origin 3400 have a router ASIC with two ports disabled to prevent them from being upgraded into Origin 3800 systems.
I-brick
The I-brick is a 4U-high enclosure that provides boot I/O functions for the Origin 3000. It features five
hot swap
Hot swapping is the replacement or addition of components to a computer system without stopping, shutting down, or rebooting the system; hot plugging describes the addition of components only. Components which have such functionality are sai ...
pable
PCI-X
PCI-X, short for Peripheral Component Interconnect eXtended, is a computer bus and expansion card standard that enhances the 32-bit PCI local bus for higher bandwidth demanded mostly by servers and workstations. It uses a modified protocol t ...
slots, with three clocked at 33 MHz and two at 66 MHz on two separate buses, two sled-mounted 3.5-inch
Fibre Channel hard drives and a proprietary CD-ROM drive. The I-Brick also provides a 10/100BASE-T
Ethernet
Ethernet () is a family of wired computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 1 ...
port, an
IEEE 1394
IEEE 1394 is an interface standard for a serial bus for high-speed communications and isochronous real-time data transfer. It was developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s by Apple in cooperation with a number of companies, primarily Sony an ...
port, a
serial port
In computing, a serial port is a serial communication interface through which information transfers in or out sequentially one bit at a time. This is in contrast to a parallel port, which communicates multiple bits simultaneously in parallel. ...
, two
USB
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...
ports as well as a
real time clock and
NVRAM
Non-volatile random-access memory (NVRAM) is random-access memory that retains data without applied power. This is in contrast to dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) and static random-access memory (SRAM), which both maintain data only for as lon ...
for storing configuration information through the IO9. It connects to the system using Crosstown2.
IX-brick
The IX-Brick is a 4U-high enclosure that is only used in Origin 3900 and Onyx 3900 systems. It an updated version of the I-brick with 133 MHz PCI-X expansion slots. It connects to the system using Crosstown2 cables.
P-brick
The P-brick is a 4U-high enclosure that provides an additional 12 PCI-X expansion slots on six buses to the system. It connects to the system using Crosstown2 cables.
PX-brick
The PX-brick is a 4U-high enclosure that is only used in Origin 3900 and Onyx 3900 systems. It an updated version of the P-brick with 133 MHz PCI-X expansion slots. It connects to the system using Crosstown2 cables.
X-brick
The X-brick is a 4U-high enclosure that provides four
XIO
XIO is a packet-based, high-performance computer bus employed by the SGI Origin 2000, Octane, Altix, Fuel and Tezro machines. The XIO forms a bus between high-performance system devices and the memory controller.
XIO is usually used in a sta ...
expansion slots. It connects to the system using Crosstown2 cables.
D-brick
The D-brick is a 4U-high enclosure that can support 12 hot-swappable
Fibre Channel hard drives through two Fibre Channel loops.
Onyx 3000
Onyx 3000 refers to Origin 3000 systems that are sold with graphics hardware as standard. The graphics hardware is contained within G-bricks hosting
InfiniteReality3 or
InfiniteReality4 graphics pipes, or V-bricks hosting InfinitePerformance (
VPro
The VPRO (stylized vpro; originally an acronym for , ) is a Dutch public broadcaster, which forms a part of the Dutch public broadcasting system. Founded in 1926 as a liberal Protestant broadcasting organization, it gradually became more ...
) graphics. The number of G-bricks or V-bricks a system supports scales linearly with the number of C-bricks present. Systems must use either G-bricks or V-bricks, as these options cannot be mixed. The Onyx 3000 originally used the InfiniteReality3, with R14000 Processors.
Models
G-brick
The G-brick is a 18U-high enclosure that supports the InfiniteReality graphics subsystem. Each G-brick can support two
InfiniteReality3 or
InfiniteReality4 graphics pipes, although only one pipe can have four raster manager boards while the other can have two. The G-brick connects to the system using Crosstown2 cables.
V-brick (InfinitePerformance)
The V-brick is a 4U-high enclosure that supports two InfinitePerformance graphics pipes. Each graphics pipe consists of a 128 MB
SGI VPro V12 graphics card. The V-brick connects to the system using Crosstown2 cables.
N-brick
The N-brick is a 2U-high enclosure that allows the C-bricks to connect to the G-bricks without using X-bricks or I-bricks, thus saving space as the other bricks are taller. The N-brick was intended for configurations where I/O capabilities were not required.
References
* Hardware Product Support Information Matrix, 7 January 2008. Silicon Graphics, Inc.
InfiniteReality4 Addendum to Silicon Graphics Onyx2, SGI Onyx 3000 Series, and SGI Onyx 300 Guides, 10 July 2002, 007-4525-001. Silicon Graphics, Inc.Mark Schwenden. SGI Onyx 3000 Series Graphics System Hardware Owner's Guide, 16 November 2001, document number: 007-4264-002. Silicon Graphics, Inc.* SGI Origin 3000 Datasheet, 8 October 2003, document number: 3399. Silicon Graphics, Inc.
Dick Brownell. SGI Origin 3000 Series Technical Configuration Owner's Guide, January 2001, document number: 007-4311-002. Silicon Graphics, Inc.* SGI Origin 3200C Scalable Cluster Datasheet, July 2000, document number: 2805. Silicon Graphics, Inc.
Nancy Heller. SGI Origin 3900 Server User's Guide, 31 January 2004, document number: 007-4653-001. Silicon Graphics, Inc.
{{Silicon Graphics
Origin 3000
Onyx 3000