Omni-Path Architecture (OPA) is a high-performance communication architecture developed by Intel. It aims for low communication latency, low power consumption and a high throughput. It directly competes with InfiniBand. Intel planned to develop technology based on this architecture for exascale computing.[1][2][3] The current owner of Omni-Path is Cornelis Networks.

History

Computing node of TSUBAME 3.0 supercomputer with four Omni-Path connections

Production of Omni-Path products started in 2015 and delivery of these products started in the first quarter of 2016. In November 2015, adapters based on the 2-port "Wolf River" ASIC[4] were announced, using QSFP28 connectors with channel speeds up to 100 Gbit/s. Simultaneously, switches based on the 48-port "Prairie River" ASIC were announced.[5] First models of that series were available starting in 2015.[6]

In April 2016, implementation of the InfiniBand "verbs" interface for the Omni-Path fabric was discussed.[7]

In October 2016, IBM, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Dell, Lenovo, Samsung, Seagate Technology, Micron Technology, Western Digital and SK Hynix announced a joint consortium called Gen-Z to develop an open specification and architecture for non-volatile storage and memory products—including Intel's 3D Xpoint technology—which might in part compete against Omni-Path.[8] Intel offered their Omni-Path products and components via other (hardware) vendors. For example, Dell EMC offered Intel Omni-Path as Dell Networking H-series, following the naming-standard of Dell Networking in 2017.[9]

In July 2019, Intel announced it would not continue development of Omni-Path networks and canceled OPA 200 series (200-Gbps variant of Omni-Path).[10][11]

In September 2020, Intel announced that the Omni-Path network products and technology would be spun out into a new venture with Cornelis Networks. Intel would continue to maintain support for legacy Omni-Path products, while Cornelis Networks continues the product line, leveraging existing Intel intellectual property related to Omni-Path architecture.[12][13][14]

In 2021, Cornelis announced Omni-Path Express, which replaces PSM2-based drivers and middleware, which trace back to PathScale's PSM created in 2003, for the existing Omni-Path hardware, with a native libfabric provider.[15][16]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Intel Architects High Performance Computing System Designs to Bring Power of Supercomputing Mainstream". Intel. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  2. ^ "Intel Reveals Details for Future High-Performance Computing System Building Blocks as Momentum Builds for Intel Xeon Phi Product". Intel. 17 November 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  3. ^ Richard Chirgwin (17 November 2015). "Intel's Omni-Path InfiniBand-killer debuts at sizzling 100 Gb/sec". The Register. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  4. ^ Timothy Prickett Morgan (16 November 2015). "Intel Rounds Out Scalable Systems With Omni-Path". The Next Platform. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  5. ^ "Intel Announces New Details for Future HPC Products and Extended Industry Collaborations at ISC 2015" (PDF). Intel. 13 July 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  6. ^ Intel OMNI-PATH EDGE SWITCH PRODUCTS: Intel Fabric Products
  7. ^ Weiny, Ira (5 April 2016). "Extending RDMA for Alternative Fabrics" (PDF). 12th Annual OpenFabrics Workshop.
  8. ^ Shah, Agam (11 October 2016). "Hardware makers unite to challenge Intel with Gen-Z spec". cio.com. CIO. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  9. ^ "Dell Networking H-Series Edge Switches based on the Intel Omni-Path Architecture". Archived from the original on April 18, 2017. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
  10. ^ Martin, Dylan (31 July 2019). "Intel Kills 2nd-Gen Omni-Path Interconnect For HPC, AI Workloads". CRN. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  11. ^ "Intel Confirms Retreat on Omni-Path". HPCwire. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  12. ^ "Intel Omni-Path Business Spun Out as Cornelis Networks". HPCwire. 30 September 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  13. ^ "Omni-Path HPC Interconnect Reemerges as Intel Spin-out with $20M Investment Round from Intel Capital, Others". HPCwire. 30 September 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  14. ^ "Intel® Fabric Products". HPCwire. 30 September 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  15. ^ "Cornelis Unveils Ambitious Omni-Path Interconnect Roadmap". The Next Platform. 2021-08-24. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
  16. ^ Smith, Brian (2023-08-22). "Omni-Path and the Open Fabrics Interfaces" (PDF). 11th Annual MVAPICH User Group (MUG) Conference. Retrieved 2023-10-30.

External links

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