TTN: A High Performance Hierarchical Interconnection Network for Massively Parallel Computers

Abstract

Interconnection networks play a crucial role in the performance of massively parallel computers. Hierarchical interconnection networks provide high performance at low cost by exploring the locality that exists in the communication patterns of massively parallel computers. A Tori connected Torus Network (TTN) is a 2D-torus network of multiple basic modules, in which the basic modules are 2D-torus networks that are hierarchically interconnected for higher-level networks. This paper addresses the architectural details of the TTN and explores aspects such as node degree, network diameter, cost, average distance, arc connectivity, bisection width, and wiring complexity. We also present a deadlock-free routing algorithm for the TTN using four virtual channels and evaluate the network's dynamic communication performance using the proposed routing algorithm under uniform and various non-uniform traffic patterns. We evaluate the dynamic communication performance of TTN, TESH, MH3DT, mesh, and torus networks by computer simulation. It is shown that the TTN possesses several attractive features, including constant node degree, small diameter, low cost, small average distance, moderate (neither too low, nor too high) bisection width, and high throughput and very low zero load latency, which provide better dynamic communication performance than that of other conventional and hierarchical networks.