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The VERTEX Architecture

VERTEX is a Hybrid HPC platform architecture where control nodes transparently connect light-weight, heterogeneous compute nodes to storage and services.

VERTEX addresses the challenges posed by today's Hybrid HPC systems by employing a set of unique features. (Click here to learn more):

• Separation of IO and control functions from compute node functions
Nodes running IO and control functions (VERTEX nodes) are separate from nodes running the computational parts of an application (Compute nodes). Each node is good at doing its own part, helping system performance and scalability.

• Hierarchical system management and control
One VERTEX node manages and controls execution of an array of compute nodes, forming a super-node, and helping in system management, scalability, usability and system reliability.

• Lightweight OS in compute nodes
Eliminates the need for services and parallel file system management on compute nodes, thus reducing jitter (which typically gets worse in traditional kernels as the system size grows); improves compute node performance, helping in application performance scaling, and compute node reliability.

• Transparent execution of compute node binaries
To the user it appears that all compute node binaries, which could be for different processor architectures, run on the VERTEX node, helping in the usability of hybrid systems.

• Resource tagging
Allows the VERTEX node to implicitly or explicitly allocate compute node resources to the application, helping in dynamic and flexible construction of a super-node.