SGI Origin 3000 and Onyx 3000
Encyclopedia
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
, while the Onyx 3000 is a visualization system. Both systems were introduced in July 2000 to succeed the Origin 2000
and the Onyx2
respectively. These systems ran the IRIX 6.5 Advanced Server Environment
operating system
. 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
in 2004 and the last model was discontinued on 25 March 2005.
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
NUMAflex architecture. The NUMAlink 3 system interconnect uses a fat tree
hypercube
network topology.
. The node contains two or four processors, the local and directory memory, and the Bedrock ASIC. It connects to the system using NUMAlink 3.
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 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.
The C-Brick supports 512 MB to 8 GB of local memory through eight DIMM
slots organised into eight banks by using proprietary 100 MHz ECC DDR SDRAM
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.
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
to enable the two processors on each PIMM to operate independently without bus contention
at the cost of reduced bandwidth.
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 an 10/100BASE-T Ethernet
port, a IEEE-1394 port, a serial port
, two USB ports as well as a real time clock and NVRAM
for storing configuration information through the IO9. It connects to the system using Crosstown2.
expansion slots. It connects to the system using Crosstown2 cables.
hard drives through two Fibre Channel loops.
or InfiniteReality4 graphics pipes, or V-bricks hosting InfinitePerformance (VPro
) 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.
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.
graphics card. The V-brick connects to the system using Crosstown2 cables.
Silicon Graphics
Silicon Graphics, Inc. was a manufacturer of high-performance computing solutions, including computer hardware and software, founded in 1981 by Jim Clark...
. The Origin 3000 is a server
Server (computing)
In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"...
, while the Onyx 3000 is a visualization system. Both systems were introduced in July 2000 to succeed the Origin 2000
SGI Origin 2000
The SGI Origin 2000, code named Lego, is a family of mid-range and high-end servers developed and manufactured by SGI and introduced in 1996 to succeed the SGI Challenge and POWER Challenge. At the time of introduction, these systems ran IRIX 6.4 and later, IRIX 6.5. A variant of the Origin 2000...
and the Onyx2
SGI Onyx2
The SGI Onyx2, code name Kego, is a family of visualization systems developed and manufactured by SGI, introduced in 1996 to succeed the Onyx. The Onyx2's basic system architecture is based on the Origin 2000 servers, but with the notable inclusion of graphics hardware. In 2000, the Onyx2 was...
respectively. These systems ran the IRIX 6.5 Advanced Server Environment
IRIX
IRIX is a computer operating system developed by Silicon Graphics, Inc. to run natively on their 32- and 64-bit MIPS architecture workstations and servers. It was based on UNIX System V with BSD extensions. IRIX was the first operating system to include the XFS file system.The last major version...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
. 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
Altix
Altix is a line of servers and supercomputers produced by Silicon Graphics , based on Intel processors. It succeeded the MIPS/IRIX-based Origin 3000 servers....
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
SGI Prism
The SGI Prism is a series of visualization systems developed and manufactured by SGI. Released in April 2005 , the Prism's basic system architecture is based on the Altix 3000 servers, but with the notable inclusion of graphics hardware....
in 2004 and the last model was discontinued on 25 March 2005.
Models
| Model | # of CPUs | Memory | Chassis | Introduced | Discontinued |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Origin 3200 | 2 to 8 | 512 MB to 16 GB | 1 short rack | ? | 31 March 2004 |
| Origin 3400 | 4 to 32 | 512 MB to 16 GB | 1 tall rack | ? | ? |
| Origin 3800 | 16 to 512 | 2 GB to 1 TB | 1 to 16 tall racks | ? | 31 March 2004 |
| Origin 3900 | 4 to 512 | 1 GB to 1 TB | 1 to 4 tall racks | ? November 2002 | 29 December 2006 |
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 EthernetEthernetEthernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....
and InfinibandInfiniBandInfiniBand is a switched fabric communications link used in high-performance computing and enterprise data centers. Its features include high throughput, low latency, quality of service and failover, and it is designed to be scalable...
.
Hardware description
Physically, the Origin 3000 is based on "bricks" - rackmounted modules that provide a specific function, that are connected together using NUMAlink 3NUMAlink
NUMAlink is a system interconnect developed by SGI for use in its distributed shared memory ccNUMA computer systems. NUMAlink was originally developed by SGI for their Origin 2000 and Onyx2 systems...
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
Distributed shared memory
Distributed Shared Memory , in Computer Architecture is a form of memory architecture where the memories can be addressed as one address space...
NUMAflex architecture. The NUMAlink 3 system interconnect uses a fat tree
Fat tree
The fat tree network, invented by Charles E. Leiserson of MIT, is a universal network for provably efficient communication. Unlike an ordinary computer scientist's notion of a tree, which has "skinny" links all over, the links in a fat-tree become "fatter" as one moves up the tree towards the root...
hypercube
Hypercube
In geometry, a hypercube is an n-dimensional analogue of a square and a cube . It is a closed, compact, convex figure whose 1-skeleton consists of groups of opposite parallel line segments aligned in each of the space's dimensions, perpendicular to each other and of the same length.An...
network topology.
C-brick
The C-brick is a 3U-high enclosure that contains a node on a PCBPrinted circuit board
A printed circuit board, or PCB, is used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components using conductive pathways, tracks or signal traces etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive substrate. It is also referred to as printed wiring board or etched wiring...
. 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 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
DIMM
A DIMM or dual in-line memory module, comprises a series of dynamic random-access memory integrated circuits. These modules are mounted on a printed circuit board and designed for use in personal computers, workstations and servers...
slots organised into eight banks by using proprietary 100 MHz ECC DDR SDRAM
DDR SDRAM
Double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory is a class of memory integrated circuits used in computers. DDR SDRAM has been superseded by DDR2 SDRAM and DDR3 SDRAM, neither of which are either forward or backward compatible with DDR SDRAM, meaning that DDR2 or DDR3 memory modules...
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
Crossbar
- Structural engineering :* A primitive latch consisting of a post barring a door* The top tube of a bicycle frame* The horizontal member of many sports goals including those for hockey, association football, rugby league, rugby union and American football...
. 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
FIFO
FIFO is an acronym for First In, First Out, an abstraction related to ways of organizing and manipulation of data relative to time and prioritization...
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
Multiplexing
The multiplexed signal is transmitted over a communication channel, which may be a physical transmission medium. The multiplexing divides the capacity of the low-level communication channel into several higher-level logical channels, one for each message signal or data stream to be transferred...
to enable the two processors on each PIMM to operate independently without bus contention
Bus contention
Bus contention, in computer design, is an undesirable state of the bus in which more than one device on the bus attempts to place values on the bus at the same time. Most bus architectures require their devices follow an arbitration protocol carefully designed to make the likelihood of contention...
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 swappable PCI-XPCI-X
PCI-X, short for PCI-eXtended, is a computer bus and expansion card standard that enhances the 32-bit PCI Local Bus for higher bandwidth demanded by servers. It is a double-wide version of PCI, running at up to four times the clock speed, but is otherwise similar in electrical implementation and...
slots, with three clocked at 33 MHz and two at 66 MHz on two separate buses, two sled-mounted 3.5-inch Fibre Channel
Fibre Channel
Fibre Channel, or FC, is a gigabit-speed network technology primarily used for storage networking. Fibre Channel is standardized in the T11 Technical Committee of the InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards , an American National Standards Institute –accredited standards...
hard drives and a proprietary CD-ROM drive. The I-Brick also provides an 10/100BASE-T Ethernet
Ethernet
Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....
port, a IEEE-1394 port, a serial port
Serial port
In computing, a serial port is a serial communication physical interface through which information transfers in or out one bit at a time...
, two USB ports as well as a real time clock and NVRAM
NVRAM
Non-volatile random-access memory is random-access memory that retains its information when power is turned off, which is described technically as being non-volatile...
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 XIOXIO
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....
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 ChannelFibre Channel
Fibre Channel, or FC, is a gigabit-speed network technology primarily used for storage networking. Fibre Channel is standardized in the T11 Technical Committee of the InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards , an American National Standards Institute –accredited standards...
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 InfiniteReality3InfiniteReality
InfiniteReality refers to a 3D graphics hardware architecture and a family of graphics systems that implemented the aforementioned hardware architecture that was developed and manufactured by Silicon Graphics from 1996 to 2005...
or InfiniteReality4 graphics pipes, or V-bricks hosting InfinitePerformance (VPro
SGI VPro
VPro, also known as Odyssey, is a computer graphics architecture for Silicon Graphics workstations. First released on the Octane2, it was subsequently used on the Fuel, Tezro workstations and the Onyx visualization systems, where it was branded InfinitePerformance.VPro provides some very advanced...
) 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.
Models
| Model | # of CPUs | Memory | Graphics | # of pipes | Chassis | Introduced | Discontinued |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Onyx 3200 | 4 to 8 | 512 MB to 16 GB | InfiniteReality | 1 or 2 | 1 tall rack | 31 January 2000 | 31 March 2004 |
| Onyx 3200 | 4 to 8 | 512 MB to 16 GB | InfinitePerformance | 1 | 1 short rack | ? | 31 March 2004 |
| Onyx 3400 | 4 to 32 | 512 MB to 64 GB | InfiniteReality | 1 to 8 | 2+ racks | ? | ? |
| Onyx 3400 | 6 to 32 | 1 to 64 GB | InfinitePerformance | 1 to 4 | 1+ tall rack(s) | ? | ? |
| Onyx 3800 | 16 to 128 | 2 to 256 GB | InfiniteReality | 1 to 16 | 3+ tall racks | ? | 31 March 2004 |
| Onyx 3800 | 16 to 128 | 2 to 256 GB | InfinitePerformance | 1 to 4 | 2+ tall racks | ? | 31 March 2004 |
| Onyx 3900 | ? | ? | InfiniteReality | ? | ? | ? November 2002 | 25 March 2005 |
| Onyx 3900 | ? | ? | InfinitePerformance | ? | ? | ? November 2002 | 25 March 2005 |
G-brick
The G-brick is a 18U-high enclosure that supports the InfiniteReality graphics subsystem. Each G-brick can support two InfiniteReality3InfiniteReality
InfiniteReality refers to a 3D graphics hardware architecture and a family of graphics systems that implemented the aforementioned hardware architecture that was developed and manufactured by Silicon Graphics from 1996 to 2005...
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 V12SGI VPro
VPro, also known as Odyssey, is a computer graphics architecture for Silicon Graphics workstations. First released on the Octane2, it was subsequently used on the Fuel, Tezro workstations and the Onyx visualization systems, where it was branded InfinitePerformance.VPro provides some very advanced...
graphics card. The V-brick connects to the system using Crosstown2 cables.