Omni-Path

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Short description: Communication architecture

Omni-Path Architecture (OPA) is a high-performance communication architecture developed by Intel. It aims for low communication latency, low power consumption and a high throughput. It directly competes with InfiniBand. Intel planned to develop technology based on this architecture for exascale computing.[1][2][3] The current owner of Omni-Path is Cornelis Networks.

History

Computing node of TSUBAME 3.0 supercomputer with four Omni-Path connections

Production of Omni-Path products started in 2015 and delivery of these products started in the first quarter of 2016. In November 2015, adapters based on the 2-port "Wolf River" ASIC[4] were announced, using QSFP28 connectors with channel speeds up to 100 Gbit/s. Simultaneously, switches based on the 48-port "Prairie River" ASIC were announced.[5] First models of that series were available starting in 2015.[6]

In April 2016, implementation of the InfiniBand "verbs" interface for the Omni-Path fabric was discussed.[7]

In October 2016, IBM, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Dell, Lenovo, Samsung, Seagate Technology, Micron Technology, Western Digital and SK Hynix announced a joint consortium called Gen-Z to develop an open specification and architecture for non-volatile storage and memory products—including Intel's 3D Xpoint technology—which might in part compete against Omni-Path.[8] Intel offered their Omni-Path products and components via other (hardware) vendors. For example, Dell EMC offered Intel Omni-Path as Dell Networking H-series, following the naming-standard of Dell Networking in 2017.[9]

In July 2019, Intel announced it would not continue development of Omni-Path networks and canceled OPA 200 series (200-Gbps variant of Omni-Path).[10][11]

In September 2020, Intel announced that the Omni-Path network products and technology would be spun out into a new venture with Cornelis Networks. Intel would continue to maintain support for legacy Omni-Path products, while Cornelis Networks continues the product line, leveraging existing Intel intellectual property related to Omni-Path architecture.[12][13][14]

In 2021, Cornelis announced Omni-Path Express, which replaces PSM2-based drivers and middleware, which trace back to PathScale's PSM created in 2003, for the existing Omni-Path hardware, with a native libfabric provider.[15][16]

See also

References

  1. "Intel Architects High Performance Computing System Designs to Bring Power of Supercomputing Mainstream". Intel. 16 November 2015. https://newsroom.intel.com/news-releases/intel-architects-high-performance-computing-system-designs-to-bring-power-of-supercomputing-mainstream/. 
  2. "Intel Reveals Details for Future High-Performance Computing System Building Blocks as Momentum Builds for Intel Xeon Phi Product". Intel. 17 November 2015. https://newsroom.intel.com/news-releases/intel-reveals-details-for-future-high-performance-computing-system-building-blocks-as-momentum-builds-for-intel-xeon-phi-product/. 
  3. Richard Chirgwin (17 November 2015). "Intel's Omni-Path InfiniBand-killer debuts at sizzling 100 Gb/sec". https://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/11/17/intel_omni_path_debuts/. 
  4. Timothy Prickett Morgan (16 November 2015). "Intel Rounds Out Scalable Systems With Omni-Path". The Next Platform. https://www.nextplatform.com/2015/11/16/intel-rounds-out-scalable-systems-with-omni-path/. 
  5. "Intel Announces New Details for Future HPC Products and Extended Industry Collaborations at ISC 2015". Intel. 13 July 2015. https://newsroom.intel.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2016/01/ISC2015_factsheet.pdf. 
  6. Intel OMNI-PATH EDGE SWITCH PRODUCTS: Intel Fabric Products
  7. Weiny, Ira (5 April 2016). "Extending RDMA for Alternative Fabrics". https://www.openfabrics.org/images/eventpresos/2016presentations/104rdmaaltfabs.pdf. 
  8. Shah, Agam (11 October 2016). "Hardware makers unite to challenge Intel with Gen-Z spec". CIO. http://www.cio.com/article/3130273/hardware-makers-unite-to-challenge-intel-with-gen-z-spec.html. 
  9. "Dell Networking H-Series Edge Switches based on the Intel Omni-Path Architecture". http://www.dell.com/ie/business/p/networking-h-series-edge/pd. 
  10. Martin, Dylan (31 July 2019). "Intel Kills 2nd-Gen Omni-Path Interconnect For HPC, AI Workloads". https://www.crn.com/news/components-peripherals/intel-kills-2nd-gen-omni-path-interconnect-for-hpc-ai-workloads. 
  11. "Intel Confirms Retreat on Omni-Path". 1 August 2019. https://www.hpcwire.com/2019/08/01/report-intel-retreats-on-omni-path/. 
  12. "Intel Omni-Path Business Spun Out as Cornelis Networks". 30 September 2020. https://hpcwire.com/off-the-wire/intel-omni-path-business-spun-out-as-cornelis-networks/. 
  13. "Omni-Path HPC Interconnect Reemerges as Intel Spin-out with $20M Investment Round from Intel Capital, Others". 30 September 2020. https://insidehpc.com/2020/09/omni-path-hpc-interconnect-reemerges-as-intel-spin-out-receives-20m-investment-round-from-intel-capital-and-others/. 
  14. "Intel® Fabric Products". 30 September 2020. https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/network-io/high-performance-fabrics.html. 
  15. "Cornelis Unveils Ambitious Omni-Path Interconnect Roadmap". 2021-08-24. https://www.nextplatform.com/2023/08/24/cornelis-unveils-ambitious-omni-path-interconnect-roadmap/. 
  16. Smith, Brian (2023-08-22). "Omni-Path and the Open Fabrics Interfaces". https://mug.mvapich.cse.ohio-state.edu/static/media/mug/presentations/23/MUG23TuesdayBrianSmith.pdf. 

External links