Scalable Platform Services on the Intel TFLOPS Supercomputer

This paper describes Scalable Platform Services (SPS)—a collection of software providing the manageability solution for Intel’s latest parallel processing supercomputer. Compared to previous generations of supercomputer management environments, such as that of the Intel Paragon Supercomputer, the SPS makes significant strides in feature offerings and overall usability. The SPS consists of distributed, low-level hardware monitoring, and control functions networked to a centralized management station which are in turn exported to administrators through command-line and graphic user interfaces. This software system demonstrates successful application of off-the-shelf standard components, chiefly the Desktop Management Interface (DMI) supported by Intel and the Desktop Management Task Force. Together with specialized management hardware, the SPS offers a platform management architecture designed for scalability, availability, usability, and high performance.