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These days, High Performance Computing cluster architectures are getting away from the proprietary and expensive networking technology model in favor of the Ethernet. Performance/ latency TCP/IP is in the forefront of this switch.

InfiniBand used to be the 800-pound gorilla for interconnect technology for HPC applications, using Message Passing Interface and remote direct memory access, according to the paper from Chelsio, which says it’s not really the preferred networking protocol in these environments any more.

In fact, 48 percent of the top 500 supercomputers now use Ethernet as their standard networking technology, according to figures cited by Chelsio officials, who attribute this to “the rapid adoption of the x86 platform in high performance parallel computing environments.”

Building on this development, Chelsio officials say they have delivered iWARP connectivity with what they’re claiming as “the shortest delay available in a network interface card.” They point to recent tests with Chelsio partners which indicated that the T420-LL-CR delivered RDMA Verbs latency of 3.4 μs and average latency of 3.7 μs and ensured “continuous low latency operation during periods of heavy use.”

Chelsio officials say rough, rigorous requirements of cluster computing and storage “can be met or exceeded using iWARP and the Chelsio T420-LL-CR Unified Wire Adapter,” adding that pervasive and reliable 10Gb Ethernet with iWARP “delivers a highly scalable ultra-low latency inter- connect solution for all HPC environments.”

Last month TMC’s (News - Alert) Susan J. Campbell wrote that Chelsio recently published a case study examining the importance of 10 Gigabit Ethernet in the investment industry.

High frequency trading has increased substantially in the investment industry and inefficiencies in the network can have dire consequences, Campbell noted, adding that slower network interface cards supporting the trading infrastructure can result in lower profitability. Cutting corners on speed and opting out of 10GB Ethernet can cost more than just time.