High Power Computing and the Effects on Bandwidth Usage

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By Jake Brander

Jake Brander

High performance computing involves advanced computations, such as physical simulation, weather and climate research, data mining and other more complex processes. They are dense packed with highly efficient platforms and are significantly faster compared to typical computers. There are many factors that enable these computers to have that particular level of performance, such as the number of CPU or GPU cores or their scalability performance.

One of the most important factors to take into consideration is the extremely high levels of bandwidth that these systems need in order to work properly. High powered computers, such as simulators require large amounts of bandwidth, along with low latency connections, multi-processor nodes and high capacity storage systems. One of the many solutions is the compute cluster, which allows for higher productivity and flexible performance. Through maximization of performance, the computers are able to deliver their required tasks without any problems. Connectivity is of course also very important, it makes a significant difference in the way the computers are able to meet the demands of their functionality.

Another key observation to take note of would be the interdependence among each of these various factors. This is also the reason why many of the solutions now are comprehensive. The solutions often include high bandwidth rates, low latency, low CPU overhead, high message rate and remote access memory. Such solutions allow for real scalability, flexibility and efficiency that many solutions fail to deliver. This is because there are solutions that do not account for the bandwidth and low latency. It therefore creates a gap in the performance of the computer.

Closing the gap is very important in many industries or fields that use high power computing. For example, most data centers are looking for a comprehensive solution that will significantly reduce wait times. In return, this solution also has the potential to improve the productivity data centers. These data centers tend to use multi-core and multi-processor servers, which means performance may still be affected by the network.

In media or entertainment, a comprehensive solution eliminates production lags. This is very important today as information is delivered through various platforms. High performance computers will allow faster delivery of information across all the platforms. Here, bandwidth is very important as communication is not limited within the company and its data center or centers. In media and entertainment, it is imperative to combine up to hundreds of CPUs for the amount of complex tasks and to ensure that there is no lag time across the platform or medium. This is just for the delivery of information. Media companies need to execute multiple and varied tasks at any given time and even combine them instantaneously, creating a need for a highly efficient system.

Regardless of the application, it is important to have adequate bandwidth to support your network. With so many carriers out there, it can be difficult to choose the right one. Fortunately, there are bandwidth brokers with industry expertise that can help any company make the right decision based on size, location, bandwidth requirements and budget.

Jake Brander is the President of Brander Group Inc, a consulting firm, and IPv4 Brokerage.