HPAM: an active message layer for a network of hp workstations

Active Messages is a thin, highly optimized communication layer targeted at the library or compiler writer. A primary goal of an Active Message layer is to deliver the minimum latency and peak bandwidth of the network hardware to user pro grams. Previous work on Active Messages demonstrated a 6-to 12-fold perfor mance improvement over vendor supplied send and receive libraries for Massively Parallel Processors. This document describes an Active Message layer we have constructed on a Net work of Workstations. The HPAM layer currently runs on a network of 4 HP 9000/ 735 workstations with Medusa FDDI interface cards. HPAM achieves a round trip time for a 20 byte payload of 29 psec, an order of magnitude better than traditional software, and a maximum bandwidth of 12 MB/s.

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