High Performance Computing
Ben Galton-Fenzi
Ben.Galton-Fenzi@aad.gov.au
WORLD'S FASTEST: TIANHE-2 (SOURCE: HTTP://WWW.TOP500.ORG/LISTS/2013/11/)
Multithreading dash
"COMPUTERS" YARNS
- How computers work
- Operating systems
- Where to go for help (1)
- Writing, compiling and running code (2)
- Languages
- Precision
- Cloud computing (1)
- High performance computing
- GPU computing
- Numerical modelling
- Future of computing
THREADS
- Computers (B G-F, Anya Reading, TPAC, ... )
- Control of data, manipulations and versions (Mike Sumner)
- Analysis tools (? ) and methods (Spoon et al.)
- Numerical modelling and methods (Neil H, ... )
- Graphics and visualisation and workflow(Anya R, Eric O,..)
- Communication tools (Molly, Jess M-T, Vance)
NEED:
- To identify coordinators for each thread
- Calender that can be seen by all
- ??
What is high performance computing?
- Depends on needs
- How long are you willing to wait for an answer?
- What is meant by "performance"
- Parallel computing above what can be obtained with a laptop
A High performance computer = a cluster
- Several computers, nodes, mounted in racks
- One or more networks (interconnects) to allow communication between nodes
- Software that allows the nodes to communicate with each other (eg MPI, OpenMP)
- Software that reserves resources to individual user (eg Portable Batch System)
BEOWULF CLUSTER
WORLD'S FASTEST: TIANHE-2
Measuring performance
FLOP/S = Floating Point OPerations per Second
Moore's law
The number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years
Raw performance is not always what matters
- How long does it take me to get an answer
- What is the economic cost?
- Trade off between cost and resolution
The art of hpc
- Practical experience is important
- Building on existing solutions is preferred over inventing new ones
- A good solution today is worth more than a better solution tomorrow
- A readable and maintainable solution is better than a complicated one
economic Cost: APAC/NCI
getting started
Useful links
Next?
- Tutorial?
- Using qsub
- Running code (live demo)
- Benchmarking and optimising code
- Interactive/passive