The Argus prototype: aggregate use of load modules as a high-density supercomputer

This paper describes the ARGUS prototype, a high-density, low-power supercomputer built from an IXIA network analyzer chassis and load modules. The prototype is configured as a diskless distributed system that is scalable to 128 processors in a single 9U chassis. The entire system has a footprint of 0.25 m2 (2.5 ft2), a volume of 0.09 m3 (3.3 ft3) and maximum power consumption of less than 2200 W. We compare and contrast the characteristics of ARGUS against various machines including our on-site 32-node Beowulf and LANL’s Green Destiny. Our results show that the computing density (Gflops ft−3) of ARGUS is about 30 times higher than that of the Beowulf and about three times higher than that of Green Destiny with a comparable performance. Copyright c © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.