HOT INTERCONNECTS SYMPOSIUM V 1997

Sponsored by the Technical Committee on Microprocessors and Microcomputers of
the IEEE Computer Society.

A Symposium on High Performance Interconnects

August 21-23, 1997, Kresge Auditorium, Stanford University, Stanford, CA


PROGRAM RECORD

Thursday, August 21, 1997

8:30-8:45 Welcome and Opening Remarks

8:45-9:45 Networking Keynote Presentation:

Evolution of High Speed Networking, Robert E. Kahn, President, Corporation for National Research Initiatives

9:45-10:45 Network I/O

10:45-11:15 Break

11:15-12:15 Cluster Computing

12:15-1:30 Lunch

1:30-3:30 Network Interfaces

3:30-4:00 Break

4:00-5:30 Bandwidth to the Home: Technical Session

5:30-7:30 Reception and Buffet Dinner

Wine and Cheese sponsored by .

Dinner sponsored by .

7:30-9:30 Bandwidth to the Home: Evening Panel

Moderated by: Robert E. Kahn, President, Corporation for National Research Initiatives

Friday August 22, 1997

8:30-9:30 Signalling Keynote Presentation:

The Limits of Electrical Signalling, Mark Horowitz, Stanford University

9:30-10:30 Symmetric Multiprocessors

10:30-11:00 Break

11:00-12:30 Optical Signalling Technology

12:30-2:00 Lunch

2:00-4:00 Electrical Signalling Technologies

4:00-4:30 Break

4:30-6:30 Routers

6:30-6:45 Closing Remarks

This is an advance program. Sessions and papers may be dropped, added, or moved between days.

Saturday August 23, 1997 - Tutorials

8:30 - 12:00 Infrared Wireless Communications

Joseph M. Kahn, University of California at Berkeley

The infrared medium is well-suited for high-speed wireless networking of portable computing devices. Directed and diffuse infrared systems, operating at bit rates up to 4 Mb/s, are now commercially available. We discuss current infrared standards, and present design strategies to achieve bit rates as high as 100 Mb/s. Topics addressed include: power-efficient link design, modulation/demodulation techniques, multipath propagation, and multiple-access techniques.

8:30 - 12:00 IPng: The Next-Generation Internet Protocol

Robert Hinden, Ipsilon

The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has developed a new version of the Internet Protocol which is the core protocol in the Internet. IPng, also known as IP version 6 (IPv6) is designed to meet the challenge of Internet's continued exponential growth as well as adding important new features such as "plug and play" auto-configuration, strong security, and support for real-time traffic. This tutorial will include background on the why IPv6 was developed, detailed description of the IPv6 protocol, current status, and a frank discussion of whether it will be deployed.

8:30 - 12:00 The Implementation and Application of Beowulf Class PC Clusters

Please note change in time!

Thomas Sterling, California Institute of Technology and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

The explosive emergence of Beowulf class PC clusters and other approaches to "piles of PCs" is offering new opportunities to achieving moderate to high end computing at unprecedented price performance. This tutorial describes the means and methodology for exploiting the ubiquitous availability of the hardware and software building blocks with their (almost) plug-and-play capability yield a "parts by dawn, processing by dusk" approach to clustered computing. Included are the a framework for considering the tradeoffs of alternative elements, the configuration and installation of ensembles, approaches to applications programming, and benchmarking results. Notes entitled "How to Build a Beowulf" will be distributed.

1:30 - 5:00 Virtual Interface Architecture

Chris Dodd, Intel Corporation

The Virtual Interface Architecture for System Area Networks is an industry-wide effort, lead by Intel, Microsoft, and Compaq, to standardize on a high performance A{I for cluster communication. This tutorial consists of two sessions. The first session will cover VI architectural concepts and services, how architecture meets the needs of scalable applciations, and the standard API syntax and semantics. The second session will offer perspectives of several leading organizations who will be among the first to have products that comply with the Virtual Interface Architecture specification.

1:30 - 5:00 Optical Interconnect Technologies: A Systems-Level Review The role of guided-wave and free-space optical interconnect technologies (OITs) within the intra-cabinet levels of the physical interconnection hierarchy will be discussed from (1) a wire-replacement perspective and (2) an architectural enabler perspective. Specifically, the impact of OITs on parallel processing execution models will be addressed. Also, current academic and industrial research efforts will be reviewed and areas in need of future research will be outlined.

Organizing Committee

General Chair: David E. Culler, UC Berkeley, culler@cs.berkeley.edu
Vice General Chair: Vivian Shen, Hewlett-Packard, vivians@fireworks.hpl.hp.com
Program Co-Chairs: Randy Rettberg, SMCC, randy.rettberg@Eng.Sun.COM and William Dally, MIT, billd@ai.mit.edu
Treasurer: Qiang Li, Santa Clara University, qli@sunrise.scu.edu
Registration: Jeremy Gorman, TRW, and Yunfung Yang, Santa Clara University
Local Arragements: Nick McKeown, Stanford University, nickm@ee.stanford.edu and My T. Le, Cisco Systems, myle@cisco.com
Publicity: Weijia Shang, Santa Clara University, wshang@scu.edu
Publication: Steven Fu, CISCO, stevefu@cisco.com
Tutorials: Hasan AlKhatib Santa Clara University, halkhatib@scuacc.scu.edu
Program Committee
Eric Brewer, UCB, Inktomi
Larry Dennison, Avici Systems
Kai Li, Princeton University
Nick McKeown, Stanford University
Craig Partridge, BBN
John Poulton, UNC-CH
Justin Rattner, Intel
Eugen Schenfeld, NEC Research Institute
Steve Scott, Cray Research
David Tennenhouse, MIT, DARPA
Chuck Thacker, Microsoft
We wish to thank and for their support of the symposium.
Hot Chips Symposium 1997