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Silicon Graphics Will Put Linux On Origin

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the full-circle dept.

deran9ed writes: "Silicon Graphics plans to introduce a version of its Origin 3000 series computer built around Intel's 64-bit IA-64 Itanium processor running Linux, according to SGI Chairman and CEO Robert Bishop. The current Origin 3000 computers from SGI are built around processors from MIPS Technologies and run SGI's proprietary Irix operating system. SGI has not decided as yet on the name for the new product line. Infoworld article."

2 of 102 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Let's all hope that.. by stripes · · Score: 5
    [Let's all hope that..] they do a better job with these then with the Intel based workstations they sell now.

    Well the current Intel boxes don't have any more CPUs then you can get elsewhere (they do have more memory bandwidth, by a factor of around 3). The O3000 supports 100s of CPUs, if the O3000 IA64 does as well they will at least have a nice story to sell people on. I don't know if it something people are willing to pay a lot for, but time will tell that.

    It is interesting that they will port Linux to it. As far as I know Linux isn't tuned to work in a large NUMA (Non-Uniform Memory Access -- local memory in maybe 5ns, memory from a few racks away at 500ns) with 100s of CPUs. It will be interesting to see what they change to make it happy. Esp if they don't go the simple route (treating it as a bunch of total different machines with a fast network).

    What I would really like to see is a port of Linux to the MIPS based machines though. If SGI tweaked it all out that would be sweet.

    I don't really see why they don't do that either. It isn't like there is anything special about the IA64 or MIPS that makes Linux or IRIX better on one or the other. Even if they think putting Linux on the MIPS boxes will scare off existing IRIX users, won't porting Linux to the IA64 O3000, but not porting IRIX to it will be even worse?

    SGI does lots of good and interesting stuff, but they really are inscrutable sometimes.

  2. Re:Why not for MIPS? by InsaneGeek · · Score: 4

    I asked this of our rep a few months ago, asking about the port work of Linux to Mips. What he said was that Irix has a buch of special magic going on in conjunction with the Mips CPU. i.e. make sure code gets to the cpu through at the same time, special read ahead things, tweaks with the bus and cpu, etc. to put them into a Linux system would fundamentaly change how things are currently done in most of the kernel . Think how hard they've been trying just to get big memory support into the kernel, could you imaging trying to get a completely different core change that would only help Mips cpu's.

    They are doing porting work, and Linux is running on Mips currently (so is NetBSD), but the special performance enhancements aren't in the kernel. Currently running Irix on a Mips Origin will be much faster than with Linux, but on the smaller workstations O2, Indigo II, etc. Linux will be faster (for non gui work) because it's so light-weight.

    Don't plan on getting a speedy Linux on your Onyx, Origin systems anytime soon, unless you want to take a big performance cut.