Semiconductor & Computer Engineering
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== Overview == | == Overview == | ||
| − | {{ | + | [[File:sx-aurora overview.svg|thumb|right|400px|Overview of the SX-Aurora]] |
| + | The SX-Aurora is [[NEC]]'s successor to the {{\\|SX-ACE}}, a [[vector processor]] designed for [[high-performance]] scientific/research applications and supercomputers. The SX-Aurora deviates from all prior chips in the kind of markets it's designed to address. Therefore, NEC made slightly different design choice compared to prior generations of vector processors. In an attempt to broaden their market, NEC extended beyond supercomputers to the conventional server and workstation market. This is done through the use of [[PCIe]]-based [[accelerator cards]]. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Moving to an accelerator card is not without its challenges. To keep the high memory bandwidth, and thus high [[bytes per FLOP]], while moving a smaller [[form factor]], it was necessary to drop the large amount of DDR memory channels. Instead, NEC opted to utilizing [[high-bandwidth memory]] on-chip instead. The card itself is designed communicate with other cards on the system in order to scale up from just a single card for workstation use to a supercomputer with 64 cards per rack. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The chip itself consists of eight very [[big cores]] along with 16 MiB of [[last level cache]] on a 2-dimensional mesh. Attached to the LLC are the two memory controllers which interface with the six [[high-bandwidth memory]] sitting on an [[interposer]]. Fabricated on [[TSMC]]'s [[16 nm process]], the SX-Aurora operates at up to 1.6 GHz delivering up to 307.2 [[gigaFLOPS]] ([[double-precision]]) per core for a total of up to 2.45 [[teraFLOPS]]. | ||
== Vector engine (VE) card == | == Vector engine (VE) card == | ||
Revision as of 23:27, 23 November 2018
| Edit Values | |
| SX-Aurora µarch | |
| General Info | |
| Arch Type | VPU |
| Designer | NEC |
| Manufacturer | TSMC |
| Introduction | 2018 |
| Core Configs | 8 |
| Pipeline | |
| Type | Superscalar, Pipelined |
| OoOE | Yes |
| Speculative | Yes |
| Reg Renaming | Yes |
| Stages | 8 |
| Decode | 4-way |
| Cache | |
| L1I Cache | 32 KiB/core |
| L1D Cache | 32 KiB/core |
| L2 Cache | 256 KiB/core |
| L3 Cache | 16 MiB/chip |
| Succession | |
SX-Aurora is NEC's successor to the SX-ACE, a 16 nm microarchitecture for vector processors first introduced in 2018.
Contents
History
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This section is empty; you can help add the missing info by editing this page. |
Architecture
Key changes from SX-ACE
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This section is empty; you can help add the missing info by editing this page. |
Block Diagram
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This section is empty; you can help add the missing info by editing this page. |
Memory Hierarchy
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This section is empty; you can help add the missing info by editing this page. |
Overview
The SX-Aurora is NEC's successor to the SX-ACE, a vector processor designed for high-performance scientific/research applications and supercomputers. The SX-Aurora deviates from all prior chips in the kind of markets it's designed to address. Therefore, NEC made slightly different design choice compared to prior generations of vector processors. In an attempt to broaden their market, NEC extended beyond supercomputers to the conventional server and workstation market. This is done through the use of PCIe-based accelerator cards.
Moving to an accelerator card is not without its challenges. To keep the high memory bandwidth, and thus high bytes per FLOP, while moving a smaller form factor, it was necessary to drop the large amount of DDR memory channels. Instead, NEC opted to utilizing high-bandwidth memory on-chip instead. The card itself is designed communicate with other cards on the system in order to scale up from just a single card for workstation use to a supercomputer with 64 cards per rack.
The chip itself consists of eight very big cores along with 16 MiB of last level cache on a 2-dimensional mesh. Attached to the LLC are the two memory controllers which interface with the six high-bandwidth memory sitting on an interposer. Fabricated on TSMC's 16 nm process, the SX-Aurora operates at up to 1.6 GHz delivering up to 307.2 gigaFLOPS (double-precision) per core for a total of up to 2.45 teraFLOPS.
Vector engine (VE) card
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This section is empty; you can help add the missing info by editing this page. |
Die
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This section is empty; you can help add the missing info by editing this page. |
Bibliography
- Template:hcbib
- Supercomputing 2018, NEC Aurora Forum
- Some information was obtained directly from NEC
| codename | SX-Aurora + |
| core count | 8 + |
| designer | NEC + |
| first launched | 2018 + |
| full page name | nec/microarchitectures/sx-aurora + |
| instance of | microarchitecture + |
| manufacturer | TSMC + |
| name | SX-Aurora + |
| pipeline stages | 8 + |