Sunway supercomputer architecture towards exascale computing: analysis and practice

In recent years, the improvements of system performance and energy efficiency for supercomputers have faced increasing challenges, which create more intensive demands on the architecture design for realizing exascale computing. This paper first analyzes the main requirements of exascale computing on the aspects of the parallel computing application and supercomputing center operation. Afterwards, a mapping scheme of “demands-challenges-architecture” is proposed. Then, the major challenges of exascale supercomputer, such as scalability, power consumption, data movement, programming and availability, are thoroughly analyzed, and the corresponding appropriate solutions are proposed. Moreover, this paper proposes the Sunway computer architecture towards exascale computing in which the many-core processor, network chipset and software system are all domestically-designed. The technology roadmap of Sunway supercomputer will hold the comprehensive design methods for the architecture, including the processor, interconnect network, assembly structure, power supply, cooling system, system software, parallel algorithm and application support, promising great advances for exascale supercomputing.