Supporting HPDC applications over ATM networks with cell-based transport mechanisms

We address the problem of supporting high performance distributed computing (HPDC) applications running over ATM networks. For this purpose, we consider a logically separate subnetwork for these applications. After presenting an architectural reference model for the HPDC subnetwork and distinguishing which functions should be installed over the ATM network in order to satisfy the needs of HPDC applications, we propose two mechanisms that aim at optimizing communications by taking advantage of both the special properties of HPDC traffic and the cell based nature of ATM. The performance of these mechanisms is evaluated and compared with that achieved by the SSCOP protocol. The results show that when the ATM network experiences high load and the HPDC applications make an intensive use of arrays, cell based mechanisms become more robust than standard SSCOP and provide low latency and efficient cell loss recovery. Since both situations are very likely to occur in HPDC environments, we conclude that the introduction of cell based retransmission mechanisms does contribute to enhance performance of HPDC systems over ATM networks.