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Over the last decade, the ongoing revolution in
computing has been a major driving force for the
expansion of engineering analysis. Faster and
more affordable computer platforms have made detailed
CFD studies increasingly feasible within the timeframes
required to impact engineering decision making. In 2004,
the revolution continues, with new cluster computing technologies
providing attractive options to CFD users.
Working directly with the leaders in computer hardware
innovation, Fluent is well positioned to support these new
technologies.
First, the upcoming release of FLUENT 6.2 will provide
support for the latest 64-bit processors, including the AMD
Opteron and the Intel EM64T (Extended Memory 64
Technology). Preliminary results show both processors performing
very well on FLUENT standard benchmarks, with
native 64-bit support in FLUENT 6.2 outperforming the 32-
bit FLUENT 6.1.22 release by 20-40%. Not surprisingly,
clusters built on these new processor technologies are now
popular options for Fluent users.
Parallel scaling of FLUENT 6.2 running a 3.6M cell benchmark on a cluster of
2.2GHz Opteron processors; the high-speed InfiniBand interconnect yields greatly
improved scaling relative to Gigabit Ethernet
Second, as FLUENT users have increased the cluster size
used for their CFD work, the need for higher speed interconnects
has emerged as a key issue. Most FLUENT users
are aware that parallel processing can reduce the clock
time required for computations, by employing multiple
CPUs to simultaneously work on individual partitions of the
overall computational task. However, as more CPUs are
deployed, the time required for communication between
CPUs begins to be a bottleneck. Low latency interconnects
delay the onset of this bottleneck, allowing efficient use of
larger clusters to reduce turnaround time. In FLUENT 6.2
two low-latency interconnects are supported: Myrinet and
InfiniBand. Both interconnect options are showing outstanding
performance, yielding nearly linear parallel scaling
on 16-20 processors for typical applications.
Both Myrinet and InfiniBand continue to scale well as cluster size grows for this
800,000 cell benchmark problem
Parallel FLUENT scalability on an Intel EM64T Infiniband cluster for the 10M cell
FL5L3 transitional duct benchmark case.
Fluent’s partnerships have been a key ingredient for successful
rollout and support for these new technologies.
Both Intel and AMD have provided technical assistance and
early access to their new processor technologies. Support
for InfiniBand has been supported by Mellanox
Technologies, Voltaire Inc., and Dr. D.K. Panda at Ohio
State University, whose MVAPICH software is used as the
communication library for InfiniBand in FLUENT 6.2.
Mellanox is a leading supplier of InfiniBand technology.
“InfiniBand’s superior bandwidth and latency enables
parallel applications to distribute larger data sets over more
nodes and still achieve higher efficiency,” notes Roni
Ashuri, VP of Engineering at Mellanox Technologies.
“Fluent is leading the industry because their customers can
now benefit from the unsurpassed performance and value
of InfiniBand.”
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