The Exemplar is a NUMA machine with 64 GBytes of main memory, shared amongst all

256 processors. It runs the SPP-UX Unix operating system, which is binary

compatible with HP-UX. The processors are interconnected using a CTI toroidal

wiring system, which gives excellent low-latency internode communication. Two

HiPPI switches also connect the nodes. There is over 1 TeraByte of disk attached

to the system, which can achieve up to 1 GigaByte/sec parallel reads and writes.

Fast Ethernet and ATM connections are available. The machine is located at, and

operated by, the Caltech Centre for Advanced Computing Research (CACR). Funding

for the machine is by a joint Caltech/JPL/NASA project, not related to GIOD.

We are also using several Pentium-class PCs running Windows/NT, and a couple of

HP model 755 workstations. An HP model C200 workstation equipped with 155 Mbit/sec

ATM has been installed, and this is directly fibre-attached (via a FORE ATM switch)

to the Exemplar.

The CACR HPSS installation has recently been upgraded.

The Objectivity/DB ODBMS is licensed for the Exemplar and workstations being

used in the project. It is a pure object database that includes C++ and Java

bindings, federations of individual databases, and the possibility of wide area

database replication. We have also installed the Versant ODBMS, and have

compared its functionality and inter-ODBMS migration issues.

The Exemplar, HPSS and workstation systems are interconnected on the LAN using

standard Ethernet and/or with HiPPI. Wide area connections between these

systems and CERN (over a 4 Mbit/sec trans-Atlantic link) are being used in tests

of distributed database "federations".

A "CENIC" OC12 link between CACR and the San Diego Supercomputer

Centre (SDSC) will be used for WAN database tests between the Exemplar

and a large peer system in San Diego.In addition, CACR will avail itself of