Improving the communication network of a cluster of PC's to solve implicit CFD problems

• R. S. Silva LNCC
• M. F. P. Rivello UCP
• R. Amorim LNCC

Resumo

In this work we investigate the feasibility of using a cluster of PCs built with mass market networks to deal with the necessities of the CFD community, in particular for unstructured implicit CFD solvers that require a very irregular pattern of communications. We report the initial findings from a series of experiments with some well known benchmarks to determine CFD application sensitivity to machine communication parameters. This is done by running these benchmarks on a cluster in which the communication network has been modified to allow an increase of the bandwidth by adding multiple channels and a reduction on the latency by using a lightweight protocol like the M-Via.

Palavras-chave: Communication networks, Computational fluid dynamics, Ethernet networks, Protocols, Computer science, Bandwidth, Delay, Computer networks, High performance computing, Bonding