HP/Tandem NonStop Systems: Then and Now

Tuesday October 25, 2005
Hamerschlag Hall D-210
4:00 pm

Brian Gold
Carnegie Mellon University

For decades, fault-tolerant computing has been the purview of mainframes such as the HP/Tandem NonStop and IBM z900 series. With rising concerns over device reliability, fault-tolerant designs are making their way into mainstream, commodity microprocessors. But before re-inventing reliable computing, current architects must pay attention to the lessons from past (and present) mainframes. Over the years, the Tandem NonStop series has shifted from custom processors to commodity microprocessors and, most recently, to chip multiprocessors (CMPs). The shift to CMPs and modern microarchitecture does not come for free, however, and in this talk I will focus on the challenges facing the NonStop system by reviewing the recent paper, NonStop Advanced Architecture from DSN '05.

Brian Gold is a 3rd year PhD student advised by Babak Falsafi. He works on the TRUSS reliable server project, which has an upcoming article in the Nov/Dec issue of IEEE Micro special issue on reliable computing. He received BS degrees in Electrical Engineering and Applied Math and an MS degree in Computer Engineering, all from Virginia Tech.