| has gloss | eng: ViVA (Virtual Vector Architecture) is a technology from IBM for coupling together multiple scalar floating point units to act as a single vector processor. Certain computing tasks are more efficiently handled through vector computations where an instruction can be applied to multiple elements simultaneously, rather than the scalar approach where one instruction is applied to one piece of data at a time. This kind of technology is highly sought after for scientific computing and is IBMs answer to the vector-based supercomputers pioneered by Cray and that was the basis for NECs Earth Simulator which was the fastest supercomputer in the world 2002-2004. |