Cray Y-MP
| Industry | Supercomputing |
|---|---|
| Founded | May 1, 1972 |
| Products | Cray Y-MP, Cray X-MP, Cray M90, Cray EL90 |
| Website | www |
The Cray Y-MP was a supercomputer marketed by Cray Research starting in 1988 as the successor to the X-MP. While retaining software compatibility with the X-MP, it expanded the address registers from 24 bits to 32 bits. The system employed advanced high-density VLSI ECL technology paired with a novel liquid-cooling mechanism and operated on the Cray UNICOS operating system.
Available configurations featured two, four, or eight vector processors, each equipped with dual functional units and operating at a 6 ns (167 MHz) clock cycle, achieving a peak performance of 333 megaflops per processor. Main memory capacity ranged from 256 MB up to 1 GB of SRAM, organized in 64-bit words.
The initial Y-MP model (Model D) was recognizable by its unique "Y"-shaped chassis, created by attaching a rectangular cabinet housing CPU boards to the horseshoe design of the X-MP. It supported one or two Model D IOSs (Input/Output Subsystems) and offered an optional Solid State Disk (SSD) ranging from 256 MB to 4 GB. In the period of 1988–1989, this system delivered a measured performance of 2.144 GFLOPS, with a peak capacity reaching 2.667 GFLOPS.
In 1990, the Y-MP Model E succeeded the Model D by introducing IOS Model E, which doubled the I/O bandwidth. The "Y"-shaped chassis was replaced by one or two rectangular cabinets, each paired with a liquid-cooling unit. Maximum memory expanded to 2 GB, and support increased to up to eight IOSs. Variants included the Y-MP 2E, 4E, and 8E, along with the single-cabinet 8I ("Integrated") version of the 8E. Additionally, the 2E and 4E models later featured optional secondary air cooling.
The Y-MP M90, launched in 1992, was designed as a large-memory version that substituted SRAM for up to 32 GB of physically smaller but slower DRAM. It was available in configurations with two processors (M92), four processors (M94), or eight processors (M98). This series was subsequently streamlined under the Cray M90 branding.
Also introduced in 1992 was the more cost-effective Y-MP EL (Entry Level), which was a CMOS-based redesign derived from the S-2 architecture acquired from Supertek Computers in 1990. The air-cooled EL utilized a different VMEbus-based IOS and supported up to four processors delivering a peak of 133 megaflops each, with memory capacities between 32 MB and 1 GB of DRAM. This model evolved into the Cray EL90 family (including EL92, EL94, and EL98). The Y-MP EL was housed in a compact cabinet considerably smaller than conventional Cray systems and operated on standard electrical power.
In popular culture
In the movie Sneakers, which revolves around sophisticated cryptography, two main characters are depicted conversing while seated at a Cray Y-MP.
In the television dramedy Northern Exposure, during the episode titled "Nothing's Perfect", a character enthusiastically refers to accessing a "CRAY Y-MP3" supercomputer.