Practical experience in the dangers of heterogeneous computing

S. Blackford, A. Cleary, J. Demmel, I. Dhillon, J. Dongarra, S. Hammarling, A. Petitet, H. Ren, K. Stanley, R. C. Whaley

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Special challenges exist in writing reliable numerical library software for heterogeneous computing environments. Although a lot of software for distributed memory parallel computers has been written, porting this software to a network of workstations requires careful consideration. The symptoms of heterogeneous computing failures can range from erroneous results without warning to deadlock. Some of the problems are straightforward to solve, but for others the solutions are not so obvious, or incur an unacceptable overhead. Making software robust on heterogeneous systems often requires additional communication. This paper addresses the issue of writing reliable numerical software for networks of heterogeneous computers. We describe and illustrate the problems encountered during the development of ScaLAPACK. Where possible, we suggest solutions to avoid potential pitfalls, or if that is not possible, recommend that the software is not used on heterogeneous networks.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationApplied Parallel Computing
Subtitle of host publicationIndustrial Computation and Optimization - 3rd International Workshop, PARA 1996, Proceedings
EditorsJerzy Waśniewski, Dorte Olesen, Jack Dongarra, Kaj Madsen
PublisherSpringer Verlag
Pages57-64
Number of pages8
ISBN (Print)3540620958, 9783540620952
DOIs
StatePublished - 1996
Event3rd International Workshop on Applied Parallel Computing in Industrial Problems and Optimization, PARA 1996 - Lyngby, Denmark
Duration: Aug 18 1996Aug 21 1996

Publication series

NameLecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
Volume1184
ISSN (Print)0302-9743
ISSN (Electronic)1611-3349

Conference

Conference3rd International Workshop on Applied Parallel Computing in Industrial Problems and Optimization, PARA 1996
Country/TerritoryDenmark
CityLyngby
Period08/18/9608/21/96

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