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The concept of clustering, the linking together of individual servers and workstations into a cohesive unit, has helped shape many advances in enterprise-wide distributed computing. Many companies have adopted clustering technology for its ability to provide availability and scalability for mission-critical applications such as data warehousing, decision support, and transaction processing.
Effective clustering requires high-speed, high-bandwidth communication between nodes. Over the last 15 years, high-speed networking hardware has advanced rapidly, with technologies such as ATM, Fast Ethernet and Fiber Channel offering orders-of-magnitude improvements over previous LAN and WAN technologies. On the software side, however, the overhead associated with communicating between the nodes of a cluster has remained essentially unchanged-until now.
The Virtual Interface (VI) Architecture specification, an industry initiative spearheaded by Intel Corp., Compaq Computer Corp.* and Microsoft Corp.*, is a revolutionary breakthrough in cluster communications. VI Architecture defines a standard interface for low-latency, high-bandwidth communication that bypasses the traditional software overhead. Elimination of this overhead not only enables significant communication performance increases, but also results in a significant increase in the number of CPU cycles available for performing other tasks.
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Past cluster solutions were based on proprietary hardware and software interfaces. These solutions only ran on a single hardware configuration supported by a single operating system. There was little investment protection available as technological advances occurred. VI Architecture ushers in a new era for distributed enterprise computing. VI Architecture enables the construction of clusters around the common building blocks of Intel Architecture (IA)-based standard high-volume (SHV) servers and commercial, off-the-shelf operating systems. By defining a standard hardware / software interface, technological advancement in both application software and communication hardware can occur without sacrificing future compatibility. Using IA-based SHV servers, this new paradigm delivers the enterprise-class scalability and availability that businesses need for high-performance, mission-critical applications - at a fraction of the cost of traditional, proprietary mainframe and RISC-based clustering technologies. Using VI Architecture, clusters of Intel Architecture-based SHV servers can now be used to address scalability and availability solutions at all levels of the enterprise.
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VI Architecture enables vendors to design and optimize their communication hardware and application software for a single hardware/software interface. This single interface allows these vendors to create their products in volume. The economies achieved through volume manufacturing allow clusters to be assembled at a fraction of the price, while surpassing mainframes and supercomputers in both performance and reliability. This fosters the growth of economical, innovative implementations, which offer more value to end users.
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The VI Architecture specification version 1.0 was completed in December and is now publicly available for download. The specification was jointly developed by Intel, Compaq*, and Microsoft* and reviewed by the industry prior to completion. More than 100 other server industry leaders have joined the collective endeavor.
Enabling the industry to create VI Architecture conformant products requires world-class development tools. Intel is currently creating guides and tools to facilitate the development of these next-generation communication products. These guides and tools will enable the industry to develop products and solutions that conform to the interface referenced in the VI Architecture specification. The first of these tools, the Intel VI Architecture Implementation Guide, is now available online for download.
During his keynote address at the Intel Developer Forum, Intel CEO Andy Grove, using technology from Intel, IBM, Compaq, and Tandem, publicly demonstrated the first 6-node cluster enhanced to use VI Architecture technology. This cluster was built using Intel Pentium Pro processor-based Compaq ProLiant* servers running IBM's DB2* Universal Database and interconnected with Tandem ServerNet*. This demonstration showed the exceptional scalability that is possible when using VI Architecture technology.
During the Intel Developer Forum, many vendors announced their VI Architecture plans. Click here to view a list of vendor press releases. Many other vendors will be announcing VI Architecture-enabled products in the coming months.
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To see the first 6-node cluster built on VI Architecture technology, see Andy Grove's keynote address at IDF.
For detailed information about VI Architecture download version 1.0 of the specification now.
If you want implementation details for VI Architecture conformant products, download the Intel VI Architecture Implementation Guide.
Watch the news clips and press releases section of the Intel VI Architecture web-site for the latest industry information on VI Architecture!
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Visit Intel's Virtual Interface (VI) Architecture site for the latest information on VI Architecture.
Visit the VI Architecture industry web site for more details on contributors, promoters, and the specification.
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* Legal Information © 1998 Intel Corporation
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