Cray Research

Cray Research. Founded in 1972 by legendary computer architect Seymour Cray, the company became synonymous with the world's most powerful supercomputers throughout the late 20th century. Headquartered in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, it dominated the high-performance computing market for decades, supplying systems to major government agencies, academic institutions, and corporate research labs. Its machines were pivotal in advancing fields like cryptanalysis, computational fluid dynamics, and nuclear weapons simulation.

History

The company's origins trace directly to the work of Seymour Cray at Control Data Corporation, where he designed the CDC 6600. After leaving CDC, Cray founded his own firm, securing initial funding from investors and soon delivering the revolutionary Cray-1 in 1976. Under the leadership of CEO John Rollwagen, who joined in the early 1980s, Cray Research navigated the competitive landscape against rivals like IBM and Fujitsu. A significant corporate split occurred in 1989 when Seymour Cray left to form Cray Computer Corporation, focusing on the Cray-3, while the original company continued under the Cray Research name. The company's independence ended when it was acquired by Silicon Graphics (SGI) in 1996.

Products

The company's product line defined generations of supercomputing. Its first and most iconic system, the Cray-1, introduced in 1976, featured a distinctive cylindrical design and set new performance standards. Successors included the Cray X-MP, the first multiprocessing model, and the Cray-2, known for its innovative liquid cooling system. The Cray Y-MP series further expanded processing power, while later ventures included the massively parallel Cray T3D and Cray T3E. The company also developed specialized systems like the Cray XMS for database management and the Cray S-MP for lower-tier markets.

Supercomputing technology

Technological innovation was central to the company's machines, which relied on Emitter-coupled logic (ECL) and advanced integrated circuit packaging to achieve unprecedented clock speeds. A hallmark was the pioneering use of vector processing, which allowed simultaneous operations on arrays of data. The physical architecture was equally notable, with the Cray-1's bench-like seating around its central column minimizing wire lengths. Thermal management evolved from Freon cooling to the fluorinert immersion system used in the Cray-2. Later architectures incorporated parallel computing models and began integrating microprocessor components from partners like DEC and AMD.

Impact and legacy

The company's supercomputers had a profound impact on scientific and national security endeavors. They were instrumental at U.S. government laboratories like Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the National Security Agency for weapons research and codebreaking. In the civilian sector, they enabled breakthroughs in weather forecasting at institutions like the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and in aerospace design for companies like Boeing and NASA. The cultural legacy is enduring, with Cray machines frequently depicted in media and serving as a benchmark in the TOP500 list of supercomputers. The Cray name and technological lineage continued through subsequent entities like Cray Inc..

Corporate timeline

Key milestones in the company's corporate history include its founding in 1972 and its initial public offering on the NASDAQ in 1982. The strategic partnership with Sun Microsystems in the late 1980s marked a shift towards UNIX-based systems. The spin-off of Cray Computer Corporation in 1989 was followed by the acquisition of the Supertek company to produce lower-cost systems. In 1995, the company acquired the massively parallel computing assets of Thinking Machines Corporation. The corporate entity was purchased by Silicon Graphics in 1996, which later sold the assets to Tera Computer Company, which rebranded itself as Cray Inc. in 2000.