Showing papers by "Paul Penfield published in 1988"
30 Sep 1988
TL;DR: The largest possible computer that could be conceived for the mid to late 1990s is described in this paper, where the authors present the technical challenges of such a machine serve as the guiding stimulus for the research carried out and reported here.
Abstract: The research vehicle for this contract is the largest possible computer that could be conceived for the mid to late 1990s. The technical challenges of such a machine serve as the guiding stimulus for the research carried out and reported here. This machine is forecast to occupy a 14-story building, to cost upwards of $1,000,000,000, and to be so colossal that the nation can only afford one or two of them. The available chip technology and machine size are consistent with a million FLOPS and a million billion bytes of memory. It will dissipate 50 megawatts of power using CMOS technology. Communication across the machine will be much slower than computation at a node. The architecture, software, interconnect technology, packaging, and operating system are unknown. This investigation deals with hardware technology, software techniques, programming algorithms, communications, processing elements, and applications. This research will determine the plausibility (not feasibility) of such a machine. Progress in these various areas are highlighted in the individual sections below.