This Cray supercomputer Faq is split into sections, Part 1 describes Cray supercomputer families, Part 2 is titled "Tales from the crypto and other bar stories", part 3 is "FAQ kind of items", part 4 is titled "Buying a previously owned machine" and part 5 is "Cray machine specifications". Corrections, contributions and replacement paragraphs to CrayFaq0220@SpikyNorman.net. Please see copyright and other notes at the end of each document. Note: Part 3 is the only part posted to newsgroups, the latest version of this and the rest of the documents can be located in http format just down from:
http://www.SpikyNorman.net
This section of the FAQ contains the specifications of various Cray supercomputers. Most of these specifications are drawn from published marketing materials and so may or may not exist as actual machines. Given the some what custom built nature of Cray supercomputers it's likely that some machines do not exactly fit these specifications. Listed in approximate date order. Linpack and other benchmark performance numbers can be seen at the Network performance database.
1972 Very Approx. Time line 1996 (dates not to scale)
**T3d* --> T3e --> T3e/1200 = MPP
* *
c1 -> XMP --> YMP --> C90 ----> T90 = PVP
\ \ \
C2 \ \ -> C90M = Large memory
. XMS --> ELs ---> J90 -> J90se -> SV1 = Air cooled Vector supermini
. APP --> SMP ---> CS6400 = Sparc Superserver
....... C3 --> C4 = Cray Computer corp.
These systems all had 1 CPU. Optional SSD 8M, 16M, 32M. M=64 bit Mega words
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| Model | m/1200 | m/2200 | M/4200 |
| Memory size | 1M | 2M | 4M |
Sales Brouchure Page1 Page2 Page3 Page4
These systems all had 1 CPU. M=64 bit Mega words
| Model | s/500 | s/1000 | s/1200 | s/1300 | s/1400 | s/2200 | s/2300 | s/2400 | s/4200 | s/4300 | s/4400 |
| Memory size | 0.5M | 1M | 1M | 1M | 1M | 2M | 2M | 2M | 4M | 4M | 4M |
| Front end interfaces | 1 - 3 | 1 - 3 | 1 - 3 | 1 - 3 | 1 - 3 | 1 - 3 | 1 - 3 | 1 - 3 | 1 - 3 | 1 - 3 | 1 - 3 |
| I/O processors | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
M=64 bit Mega words
| Model | X-MP/1 | X-MP/2 | X-MP/24 | X-MP/4 | X-MP/2 | X-MP/1 | X-MP/14se |
| Cpus | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Memory size/type | 1,2,4 Mos | 2,4M Bipolar | 2M Bipolar | 4,8,16M Bipolar | 2,4,6,16M Mos | 4,8,16M Mos | 4M Mos |
| SSD | 64,128,256,1024M | 64,128,256M | 64,128,256M | 32,64,128,256,512M | 32,64,128,256,512M | 32,64,128,256,512M | N/A |
| IOS | 2,3,4 | 2,3,4 | 2,3,4 | 2,4 | 2,3,4 | 2,3,4 | 2 |
| Buffer memory | 8,32,64 M | 8,32,64M | 8,32,64M | 4,8 | 4,8 | 4,8 | 2,4,8 |
More of a brand than a machine the extended architecture was the link between the Ymp range and the older Xmps. EA really ment 32 bit addressing technology.
Picture of XmpEA Picture of SSD
Long lived replacement to the XMP. Available with 32,128,256 or 512 Mword SSD.
| Model | YMP 2 | YMP 4 | YMP 8 |
| Cpus | 1..2 | 1..4 | 4..8 |
| Memory | 16,32Mwords | 16,32Mwords | 32,64Mwords |
Second generation YMP Vector Supercomputer. Available with 128,256 or 512 Mword SSD.
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| Picture YMP 2E | Picture YMP 4E | Picture YMP 8i | Picture Ymp M90 | ||||||||||
Picture YMP 2E Picture YMP 4E Picture Ymp 8i Picture Ymp 8E
Picture Ymp M92 Picture Ymp M94 Picture Ymp M90
| Model | YMP 2E | YMP 4E | YMP 8E | YMP 8I |
| Cpus | 1..2 | 1..4 | 8 | 4..8 |
| Memory | 32,64 Mwords | 64,128 Mwords | 128,256 Mwords | 64,128 Mwords |
| IOS | 1..2 | 1..4 | 1..8 | 1..4 |
Total immersion cooling Vector super. Featured very large memories and a compact size.
| Model | Background processors | Memory Mwords |
| 2 | 64 SRAM MOS | |
| 2 | 126 SRAM MOS | |
| 4 | 128 SRAM MOS | |
| 4 | 256 DRAM MOS | |
| 4 | 512 DRAM MOS |
Vector super. Replacement for the Ymp range. "M" varients have extra large memories.
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| Model | C92A | C94A | C94 | C98 | C916 |
| CPUS | 1,2 | 2,4 | 2,4 | 4,8 | 8,61 |
| Memory | 32,128 M | 64,128 M | 64,256 M | 128,512M | 128,1024M |
| IOS | 1,2 | 1,3 | 1,4 | 1,8 | 2,16 |
| SSD | 32-2048 | 32-2048 | 512-2048 | 512-2048 | 512-4096 |
| Cooling | Air or water | Air or water | Water | Water | Water |
| Peek Gflops | 2 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 16 |
First of the air cooled superminis. 1 CPU, 32 Mword memory, 1 IOS. Xmp architecture processor implemented in CMOS technology.
This air cooled mini super which later evolved into the Cray EL98 using mother/daughter CPU and larger memory boards included the following standard equipment.
| Model | EL/1-256 | EL/1-256 | EL/1-1024 | EL/2-256 | EL/2-512 | EL/2-1024 | EL/4-256 | EL/4-512 | EL/4-1024 |
| CPUs | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Memory Size | 32M | 64M | 128M | 32M | 64M | 218M | 32M | 64M | 128M |
| IOSs | 1..4 | 1..4 | 1..4 | 1..8 | 1..8 | 1..8 | 1..16 | 1..16 | 1..16 |
See EL94 below for picture.
This smaller repackaged version of the Cray EL included the following standard equipment:
M=64 bit Mega words
| Model | Cpus | Memory | Disk | Hippi | Power |
| 100 | 1 | 32M | 6 Gbytes | 0 | 110Vac |
| 200 | 1 | 32M | 21 Gbytes | 1 | 220Vac |
| 300 | 1 | 64M | 21 Gbytes | 1 | 220Vac |
| 400 | 2 | 64M | 21 Gbytes | 2 | 220Vac |
This smaller repackaged version of the Cray EL included the following standard equipment:
M=64 bit Mega words
| Model | Cpus | Memory | Disk | Hippi | Power |
| 150 | 2 | 32M | 6 Gbytes | 0 | 110Vac |
| 250 | 2 | 32M | 21 Gbytes | 1 | 220Vac |
| 350 | 2 | 64M | 21 Gbytes | 1 | 220Vac |
| 450 | 4 | 64M | 21 Gbytes | 2 | 220Vac |
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| T94_Front | T916_Front | T932_Front | ||||||||
Immersion cooled Verctor super.
| Model | Cpus (1.8 Gflop) | Memory Size | I/O Gigaring channels | Cooling |
| T94 | 1..4 | 0.5..2 Gbytes | 8 | Air or Water |
| T98 | 8..16 | 2..8 Gbytes | 16 | Water |
| T932 | 16..32 | 4..16 Gbytes | 32 | Water |
Popular replacement for the Cray EL range
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CRAY J916/4-256
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4
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1 to 4
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256 Mbytes (32 Mwords)
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CRAY J916/4-512
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4
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1 to 4
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512 Mbytes (64 Mwords)
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CRAY J916/4-1024
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4
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1 to 4
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1,024 Mbytes (128 Mwords)
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CRAY J916/4-2048
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4
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1 to 4
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2,048 Mbytes (256 Mwords)
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CRAY J916/8-1024
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5 to 8
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1 to 8 *
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1,024 Mbytes (128 Mwords)
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CRAY J916/8-2048
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5 to 8
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1 to 8 *
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2,048 Mbytes (256 Mwords)
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CRAY J916/12-1024
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9 to 12
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1 to 12 *
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1,024 Mbytes (128 Mwords)
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CRAY J916/12-2048
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9 to 12
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1 to 12 *
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2,048 Mbytes (256 Mwords)
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CRAY J916/12-4096
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9 to 12
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1 to 12 *
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4,096 Mbytes (512 Mwords)
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CRAY J916/16-1024
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13 to 16
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1 to 16 *
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1,024 Mbytes (128 Mwords)
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CRAY J916/16-2048
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13 to 16
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1 to 16 *
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2,048 Mbytes (256 Mwords)
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CRAY J916/16-4096
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13 to 16
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1 to 16 *
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4,096 Mbytes (512 Mwords)
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* This configuration requires additional peripheral cabinets.
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CRAY J932/16-1024
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16
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4 to16
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1,024 Mbytes (128 Mwords)
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CRAY J932/16-2048
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16
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4 to16
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2,048 Mbytes (256 Mwords)
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CRAY J932/16-4096
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16
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5 to16
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4,096 Mbytes (512 Mwords)
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CRAY J932/16-8192
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16
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5 to16
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8,192 Mbytes (1,024 Mwords)
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CRAY J932/20-1024
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20
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4 to16
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1,024 Mbytes (128 Mwords)
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CRAY J932/20-2048
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20
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4 to16
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2,048 Mbytes (256 Mwords)
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CRAY J932/20-4096
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20
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5 to16
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4,096 Mbytes (512 Mwords)
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CRAY J932/20-8192
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20
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5 to16
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8,192 Mbytes (1,024 Mwords)
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CRAY J932/24-1024
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24
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5 to16
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1,024 Mbytes (128 Mwords)
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CRAY J932/24-2048
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24
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5 to16
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2,048 Mbytes (256 Mwords)
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CRAY J932/24-4096
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24
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6 to16
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4,096 Mbytes (512 Mwords)
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CRAY J932/24-8192
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24
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6 to16
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8,192 Mbytes (1,024 Mwords)
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CRAY J932/28-1024
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28
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6 to16
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1,024 Mbytes (128 Mwords)
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CRAY J932/28-2048
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28
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6 to16
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2,048 Mbytes (256 Mwords)
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CRAY J932/28-4096
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28
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7 to16
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4,096 Mbytes (512 Mwords)
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CRAY J932/28-8192
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28
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7 to16
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8,192 Mbytes (1,024 Mwords)
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CRAY J932/32-1024
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32
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6 to16
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1,024 Mbytes (128 Mwords)
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CRAY J932/32-2048
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32
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7 to16
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2,048 Mbytes (256 Mwords)
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CRAY J932/32-4096
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32
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8 to16
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4,096 Mbytes (512 Mwords)
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CRAY J932/32-8192
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32
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8 to16
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8,192 Mbytes (1,024 Mwords)
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* Each peripheral cabinet can accommodate a maximum of four IOSs.
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First generation MPP systems require YMP or C90 to host.
| Model | PEs | Total memory Gbytes |
Peek performance GFlops |
Cooling |
| MCA32 | 32 | 0.5 or 2 | 4.8 | Air or water |
| MCA64 | 64 | 1 or 4 | 9.6 | Air or water |
| MCA128 | 128 | 2 or 8 | 19.2 | Air or water |
| MC128 | 128 | 2 or 8 | 19.2 | Air |
| MC256 | 256 | 4 or 16 | 38.4 | Air |
| MC512 | 512 | 8 or 32 | 76.8 | Air |
| MC1024 | 1024 | 16 or 64 | 153.6 | Air |
| MC2048 | 2048 | 32 or 128 | 307.2 | Air |
Alpha processor distributed memory multi parallel processor. Cpu module boards speed generations can be mixed and matched with various memory sizes. As the system scales up extra cabinets are added. Air cooled systems have up to 16 PEs per cabinet. Water cooled systems have up to 128 processors per cabinet.
| Model | CPUs | Cooling |
| AC | 6..128 | Air |
| LC | 32..2048 | Water |
Vector mini-super cluster. Each module of 4 Cpus can be combined into a single 4 GFlop multi streaming CPU.
| Model | SMP nodes | Mem Size | Cpus (1Gflop) | Cooling |
| SV1-1A | 1 | 1..16 GBytes | 8..16 | Air |
| SV1-1 | 1 | 4..32 GBytes | 8..32 | Air |
| SV1-4 | 4 | 16..128 GBytes | 32..128 | Air or Water |
| SV1-8 | 8 | 32..256 GBytes | 32..256 | Air or Water |
| SV1-32 | 32 | 128-1024 GBytes | 256..1024 | Water |
Thank you for taking time to read these important notes.
Cray, Cray Research, CRI, XMP, YMP, C90, T90, J90, T3d, T3e, Unicos, plus other words and logos used in this document are trademarks which belong to Cray Inc. and others. There is nothing generic about a Cray supercomputer.
Some of the ideas described in this document are subject to patent law or are registered inventions. Description here does not place these ideas and techniques in the public domain.
I wrote this document with input from a number of sources, but I get both the credit and the blame for its content. I am happy to read your polite correction notes and may even integrate them with the text so please indicate if you require an acknowledgement.
Personal use of this document is free but if you wish to redistribute this document, in whole or in part, for commercial gain, you must obtain permission from and acknowledge the author.
Copyright (c) 2000 by "Fred Gannett", all rights reserved. This FAQ may be posted to any appropriate USENET newsgroup, on-line service, web site, or BBS as long as it is posted in its entirety and includes this copyright statement. This FAQ may be distributed as class material on diskette or CD-ROM as long as there is no charge (except to cover materials). This FAQ may not be distributed for financial gain except to the author. This FAQ may not be included in commercial collections or compilations without express permission from the author.
