The Evolution of Supercomputer Architecture: A Historical Perspective

Approaches to supercomputer architecture have taken dramatic turns since the earliest supercomputer systems were introduced in the 1960s. Massively Parallel Processor keeps losing its rank in the fastest computer list. Cluster’s rank and share in the TOP500 list has been steadily rising at a tremendous speed. Perspectives are given on how supercomputers have evolved thru time. The architectures are presented in chronological order. And finally, the trend of current supercomputer architecture design is analyzed.