HPCwire: Dolphin Launches High-Speed Reflective Memory Solution

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HPCwire >> Topic >> Interconnects

February 26, 2009

Dolphin Launches High-Speed Reflective Memory Solution

Competitive price/performance through innovative use of system memory combined with high-speed, low-latency interconnect system

OSLO, Norway, and MARLBOROUGH, Mass., Feb 26 -- Dolphin ICS, a global provider of ultra low-latency, high-bandwidth computer interconnect solutions for application acceleration, today announced the addition of high-speed reflective memory to its Dolphin Express line of high-speed interconnect solutions. High-speed reflective memory is used in a range of applications such as financial trading systems and digital simulation for automotive, military and power electronics systems. The new offering from Dolphin dramatically speeds up application performance by providing more than twice the bandwidth of other reflective memory solutions along with industry-leading latency.

Real-time simulation of complex systems like power electronic systems can require the power components to be simulated with frame times as low as 2 to 5ms. Dolphin's reflective memory solution attacks this problem with a high-performance switched network, enabling a hardware-based data broadcast approach. Data broadcast is similar to the ring serial reflective memory networks of the past, except that data is broadcast to all server nodes simultaneously instead of serially, providing lower latency between the nodes. In real-time simulation environments latency is the single most critical element to fulfill the performance requirements. Benchmarks have shown that Dolphin's switch-based approach has significantly reduced application latency versus other reflective memory approaches. Dolphin Express combines bandwidth of 10 Gbits per second with latency as low as 1.2 microseconds.

The new reflective memory solution from Dolphin is utilizing system memory, eliminating the need for costly SRAM on the board. This gives the ability to easily adjust the memory needed for different applications or simulations, as well as contributing to a very competitive price/performance.

The new solution is based on Dolphin Express, a high-speed computer interconnect utilizing standard PCI Express. The DXS410 switch supports up to 10 nodes connected through standard CX4 cables to a DXH510 Host Bus Adapter in each host. In addition to copper cables, optical fiber is available, supporting distances up to 300 meters between the nodes. The reflective memory solution also includes Dolphin SISCI Developers kit (Software Infrastructure for Shared-memory Cluster Interconnect) complete with drivers, API software and tools for memory configuration and general setup. Linux, Solaris and Windows are supported operating systems.

Tim Miller, CEO at Dolphin, said, "We believe our switch-based data broadcast approach will significantly benefit system designers, providing new levels of performance in simulating complex systems. Our innovative use of system memory instead of on-board memory reduces the overall cost of the solution and yet provides more flexibility and scalability. With many businesses looking for cost-efficient solutions, this should be a good time to introduce a leading solution both in price and performance."

Dolphin Express with Dolphin Developers kit for reflective memory is available immediately. For further information and to order, visit Dolphin's Web store on http://www.dolphinics.com/shop.

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Source: Dolphin Interconnect Solutions

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