Application-driven analysis of two generations of capability computing: the transition to multicore processors

摘要

Multicore processors form the basis of most traditional high performance parallel processing architectures. Early experiences with these computers showed significant performance problems, both with regard to computation and inter-process communication. The transition from Purple, an IBM P0WER5-based machine, to Cielo, a Cray XE6, as the main capability computing platform for the United States Department of Energy's Advanced Simulation and Computing campaign provides an opportunity to reexamine these issues after experiences with a few generations of multicore-based machines. Experiences with Purple identified some important characteristics that led to strong performance of complex scientific application programs at very large scales. Herein, we compare the performance of some Advanced Simulation and Computing mission critical applications at capability scale across this transition to multicore processors.