Commodity computing: Difference between revisions

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'''Commodity computing''' (also known as '''commodity cluster computing''') involves the use of large numbers of already-available computing components for [[parallel computing]], to get the greatest amount of useful computation at low cost.<ref>{{cite web

{{Unreferenced|date=August 2007}}

| accessdate = 2010-03-07

'''Commodity computing''' is computing done on commodity computers as opposed to supermicrocomputers or boutique computers. Commodity computers are [[computer system]]s manufactured by multiple vendors, incorporating components based on [[open standard]]s. Such systems are said to be based on [[commodity]] components since the standardization process promotes lower costs and less differentiation among vendor's products.

| author = John E. Dorband

| author2= Josephine Palencia Raytheon |author3= Udaya Ranawake

| publisher = Goddard Space Flight Center

| title = Commodity Computing Clusters at Goddard Space Flight Center

| url = http://spacejournal.ohio.edu/pdf/Dorband.pdf

| quote = The purpose of commodity cluster computing is to utilize large numbers of readily available computing components for parallel computing to obtaining the greatest amount of useful computations for the least cost. The issue of the cost of a computational resource is key to computational science and data processing at GSFC as it is at most other places, the difference being that the need at GSFC far exceeds any expectation of meeting that need.

}}</ref> This is a useful alternative to high-cost [[superminicomputer]]s or boutique computers. Commodity computers are [[computer system]]s - manufactured by multiple vendors - incorporating components based on [[open standard]]s.{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}

== HistoryCharacteristics ==

=== The Mid-1960s to Early 1980s ===

The first computers were large, expensive and proprietary. The move towards commodity computing began when [[Digital Equipment Corporation|DEC]] introduced the [[PDP-8]] in 1965. This was a computer that was relatively small and inexpensive enough that a department could purchase one without convening a meeting of the board of directors. The entire [[minicomputer]] industry sprang up to supply the demand for 'small' computers like the PDP-8. Unfortunately, each of the many different brands of minicomputers had to stand on their own because there was no software and very little hardware compatibility between them.

Such systems are said to be based on standardized computer components, since the standardization process promotes lower costs and less differentiation among vendors' products. Standardization and decreased differentiation lower the switching or exit cost from any given vendor, increasing purchasers' leverage and preventing [[vendor lock-in|lock-in]].

When the first general purpose [[microprocessor]] was introduced in 1974 it immediately began chipping away at the low end of the computer market, replacing [[embedded system|embedded minicomputers]] in many industrial devices.

A governing principle of commodity computing is that it is preferable to have more low-performance, low-cost hardware working in parallel (scalar computing) (e.g. [[Advanced Micro Devices|AMD]] x86 [[Complex instruction set computing|CISC]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9154518/IBM_HP_servers_won_t_stop_x86_onslaught_on_Unix|title = IBM, HP servers won't stop x86 onslaught on Unix|date = 9 February 2010}}</ref>) than to have fewer high-performance, high-cost hardware items<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://research.google.com/pubs/DistributedSystemsandParallelComputing.html|title=Publications – Google Research}}</ref> (e.g. IBM [[POWER7]] or [[Sun Microsystems|Sun]]-[[Oracle Corporation|Oracle's]] [[SPARC]]<ref>[ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/common/ssi/pm/rg/n/poo03017usen/POO03017USEN.PDF ftp.software.ibm.com]{{dead link|date=May 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> [[Reduced instruction set computing|RISC]]). At some point, the number of discrete systems in a cluster will be greater than the [[mean time between failures]] (MTBF) for any hardware platform{{Dubious |sentence on fault tolerance/mtbf doesn't make sense|reason=Units don't match for compared items: 1st one is without unit and for the second one unit is time|date=September 2017}}, no matter how reliable, so [[fault tolerance]] must be built into the controlling software.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi = 10.2200/S00193ED1V01Y200905CAC006|title = The Datacenter as a Computer: An Introduction to the Design of Warehouse-Scale Machines|year = 2009|last1 = Barroso|first1 = Luiz André|last2 = Hölzle|first2 = Urs|journal = Synthesis Lectures on Computer Architecture|volume = 4|pages = 1–108|doi-access = free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://insidehpc.com/2008/06/02/google-fellow-sheds-some-light-on-infrastructure-robustness-in-face-of-failure |title=Google Fellow sheds some light on infrastructure, robustness in face of failure &#124; insideHPC.com |access-date=2010-03-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810085127/http://insidehpc.com/2008/06/02/google-fellow-sheds-some-light-on-infrastructure-robustness-in-face-of-failure/ |archive-date=2011-08-10 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Purchases should be optimized on cost-per-unit-of-performance, not just on absolute performance-per-CPU at any cost.{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}

== History ==

=== The Midmid-1960s to Earlyearly 1980s ===

This process accelerated in 1977 with the introduction of the first commodity - like microcomputer, the [[Apple II]]. With the development of the [[Visicalc]] application in 1979, microcomputers broke out of the factory and began entering office suites in large quantities, but still through the back door.

The first computers were large, expensive and proprietary. The move towards commodity computing began when [[Digital Equipment Corporation|DEC]] introduced the [[PDP-8]] in 1965. This was a computer that was relatively small and inexpensive enough that a department could purchase one without convening a meeting of the board of directors. The entire [[minicomputer]] industry sprang up to supply the demand for 'small' computers like the PDP-8. Unfortunately, each of the many different brands of minicomputers had to stand on theirits own because there was no software and very little hardware compatibility between themthe brands.

When the first general purpose [[microprocessor]] was introduced in 19741971 ([[Intel 4004]]) it immediately began chipping away at the low end of the computer market, replacing [[embedded system|embedded minicomputers]] in many industrial devices.

=== The 1980s to Mid-1990s ===

The [[IBM PC]] was introduced in 1981 and immediately began displacing Apple II's in the corporate world, but commodity computing as we know it today truly began when [[Compaq]] developed the first true IBM PC compatible. More and more PC compatible microcomputers began coming into big companies through the front door and commodity computing was well established.

This process accelerated in 1977 with the introduction of the first commodity - like [[microcomputer]], the [[Apple II]]. With the development of the [[VisicalcVisiCalc]] application in 1979, microcomputers broke out of the factory and began entering office suites in large quantities, but still through the back door.

During the 1980s microcomputers began displacing "real" computers in a serious way. At first, price was the key justification but by the mid 1980s, semiconductor technology had evolved to the point where microprocessor performance began to eclipse the performance of discrete logic designs. These traditional designs were limited by speed-of-light delay issues inherent in any CPU larger than a single chip, and performance alone began driving the success of microprocessor-based systems.

=== The 1980s to Midmid-1990s ===

The old processor architectures began to fall, first minis, then [[supermini]]s, and finally [[Mainframe computer|mainframes]]. By the mid 1990s, every computer made was based on a microprocessor, and most were microcomputers compatible with IBM PC. Although there was a time when every traditional computer manufacturer had its own proprietary micro-based designs there are only a few manufacturers of non-commodity computer systems today. However, super microcomputers (large-scale computer systems based on one or more microprocessors, like those of the IBM p, i, and z series) still own the high-end of the market.

The [[IBM Personal Computer|IBM PC]] was introduced in 1981 and immediately began displacing [[Apple II's]] systems in the corporate world, but commodity computing as we know it today truly began when [[Compaq]] developed the first true [[IBM PC compatible]]. More and more PC -compatible microcomputers began coming into big companies through the front door and commodity computing was well established.

During the 1980s, microcomputers began displacing "real"larger computers in a serious way. At first, price was the key justification but by the midlate 1980s and early 1990s, [[Very-large-scale integration|VLSI]] [[semiconductor]] technology had evolved to the point where microprocessor performance began to eclipse the performance of [[discrete logic]] designs. These traditional designs were limited by [[speed-of-light]] delay issues inherent in any CPU larger than a single chip, and performance alone began driving the success of microprocessor-based systems.

== Commodity Computing in the Present Day ==

As the power of microprocessors continues to increase, there are fewer and fewer business computing needs that cannot be met with off-the shelf commodity computers. It is likely that the low end of the supermicrocomputer genre will continue to be pushed upward by increasingly powerful commodity microcomputers. There will be fewer non-commodity systems sold each year, resulting in fewer and fewer dollars available for non-commodity R&D, resulting in a continually narrowing performance gap between commodity microcomputers and proprietary supermicros.

By the mid-1990s, nearly all computers made were based on microprocessors, and the majority of general purpose microprocessors were implementations of the [[x86]] [[instruction set architecture]]. Although there was a time when every traditional computer manufacturer had its own proprietary micro-based designs, there are only a few manufacturers of non-commodity computer systems today.

As the speed of [[Ethernet]] increases to 10 gigabits, the differences between [[multiprocessing|multiprocessor]] systems based on loosely coupled commodity microcomputers and those based on tightly coupled proprietary supermicro designs (like the IBM p-series) will continue to narrow and will eventually disappear.

=== Today ===

When 10 gigabit Ethernet becomes standard equipment in commodity microcomputer servers, multi-processor [[Computer cluster|cluster]] or [[Grid computing|grid]] systems based on off-the-shelf commodity microcomputers and Ethernet switches will take over more and more computing tasks that can currently be performed only by high- end models of proprietary supermicros like the IBM p-series, further eroding the viability of the supermicro industry.

As the power of microprocessors continues to increaseToday, there are fewer and fewer general business computing needsrequirements that cannot be met with off-the -shelf commodity computers. It is likely that the low -end of the supermicrocomputer genre will continue to be pushed upward by increasingly powerful commodity microcomputers. There will be fewer non-commodity systems sold each year, resulting in fewer and fewer dollars available for non-commodity R&D, resulting in a continually narrowing performance gap between commodity microcomputers and proprietary supermicros.

== Deployment ==

== Characteristics of Commodity Computers ==

* [[Amazon EC2]]

A large part of the current commodity computing marketplace is based on [[IBM PC compatible]]s.

* [[Baidu]]

This typically means systems that are capable of running [[Microsoft Windows]], [[Linux]], or [[PC-DOS]]/[[MS-DOS]], without requiring special drivers.

* [[Facebook]]

* [[Google Compute Engine]]

* [[ImageShack]]

* [[LinkedIn]]

* ''[[The New York Times]]''

* [[Twitter]]

* [[Yahoo!]]

== See also ==

Some of the general characteristics of a commodity computer are:

* [[Commercial off-the-shelf]] (COTS)

* Shares a base instruction set common to many different models.

* [[PlayStation 3 cluster]]

* Shares an architecture (memory, I/O map and expansion capability) that is common to many different models.

* [[Beowulf cluster]]

* High degree of mechanical compatibility, internal components ([[Central processing unit|CPU]], [[Random access memory|RAM]], [[motherboard]], peripheral cards, drives) are interchangeable with other models.

* Software is widely available off the shelf.

* Compatible with most available peripherals, works with most right out of the box.

== References ==

Other characteristics of today's commodity computers include:

{{reflist}}

* [[ATX]] motherboard footprint.

* Built-in interfaces for [[floppy drive]]s, [[Advanced Technology Attachment|IDE]] CD-ROMs and hard drives.

* Industry-standard [[Peripheral Component Interconnect|PCI]] slots for expansion.

== External links ==

Some characteristics that are becoming common to many commodity computers and may become part of the commodity computer definition:

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110810085127/http://insidehpc.com/2008/06/02/google-fellow-sheds-some-light-on-infrastructure-robustness-in-face-of-failure/ Inside HPC]

* Built-in [[Ethernet]] interface.

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100209210545/http://labs.google.com/papers/mapreduce-osdi04-slides/index-auto-0021.html Fault tolerance Handled via re-execution]

* Built-in [[USB port]]s.

*[http://hadoop.apache.org/ HADOOP]

* Built-in video.

*[https://google-services.blogspot.com/2006/07/google-machine.html Google Commodity computing models]

* Built in interfaces for [[Serial ATA|SATA]] drives.

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160327235023/http://enterprisesystemsmedia.com/article/big-lie-revealed-commodity-servers-not-cheaper-than-mainframe The Big Lie Revealed]

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Standards such as [[SCSI]], [[FireWire]], and [[Fibre Channel]] help commodotize computer systems more powerful than typical PCs. Standards such as [[Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture|ATCA]] and [[Carrier Grade Linux]] are helping to commoditize [[telecommunication]]s systems. [[Blade server]]s, [[server farm]]s, and [[computer cluster]]s are also [[computer architecture]]s that exploit commodity [[Computer hardware|hardware]].

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[[Category:Computing platforms]]

[[Category:IBM PC compatibles|*]]

[[Category:x86 microprocessors|*]]

[[Category:Personal computers]]

[[Category:x86X86 microprocessors|*]]