ACADEMIA

World’s Fastest 64-bit Linux Compiler Now Available for Broadcom and SiCortex Processors: QLogic, the only end-to-end provider of host adapters to switched fabrics for storage and high performance computing networks, announced it has extended its award-winning QLogic PathScale Compiler Suite to support the MIPS architecture. Widely acknowledged as the 64-bit performance leader and a production-grade resource for building high-performance computing (HPC) applications, the PathScale Compiler Suite is now positioned to serve the rapidly growing market for ultra low-power HPC and embedded multicore products—such as those offered by Broadcom Corporation and SiCortex. Companies are increasingly turning to lower power architectures because the power footprint is an important purchasing criterion for cluster supercomputers that may include thousands of processors. “For our multi-teraflop cluster with breakthrough performance per dollar, per watt, and per square foot, SiCortex needed a very low power, 64-bit CPU core with outstanding delivered performance on HPC applications. After surveying all of the available options, the combination of MIPS and PathScale was clearly the right choice,” said Bob Supnik, Vice President of Engineering at SiCortex. SiCortex will use the PathScale compiler to generate application code that runs across thousands of processors simultaneously. An example of a market-leading embedded multicore product is the Broadcom BCM1480 quad-core processor SOC featuring exceptional floating point capability, an advanced memory subsystem and very low power dissipation. These capabilities allow the BCM1480 to address the need for cost-efficient scaling of technical and scientific compute systems from workstations to Petaflop supercomputers. In addition, the BCM1480 enables pushing the envelope for size, weight, and power of embedded HPC (eHPC) systems to unprecedented levels. “We're excited to have the high performance PathScale Compiler running on our multiprocessor SOCs." said Lloyd Hasley, Vice President and General Manager of Broadcom's Chipset, Processor, Security and Storage Business Unit. "Now our customers will have the combined benefit of the QLogic high performance compiler and Broadcom's power-efficient processor SOCs." The Award-Winning PathScale Compiler Suite: Now Available for MIPS When MIPS processors are used in an HPC system design, their users require a robust, high-performance compiler suite, including C/C++ and Fortran. By making the PathScale Compiler available to MIPS OEMs and their customers, QLogic now extends the substantial functionality of this low-power, high-performance processor to HPC and embedded applications developers. QLogic PathScale Compiler Suite support for ultra-low-power embedded multicore products launches QLogic into the Embedded HPC market—which enables higher-performance computing solutions at very low power points. Developers benefit from the PathScale capabilities because their code runs faster and compiles more easily, allowing them to take advantage of the great performance–per-watt characteristics of the MIPS architecture. The compiler will be available for two 64-bit multi-core MIPS platforms: the Broadcom processor SOC and the SiCortex system, and will have a feature set that is converging with the X86-64 Linux version, already in market. The PathScale compiler has been shipping for three years and is about to release its third major version, featuring upgraded GCC 4.x compatibility.