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40 \title{Simulation of Asynchronous Iterative Numerical Algorithms Using SimGrid}
44 Charles Emile Ramamonjisoa and
47 Lilia Ziane Khodja and
51 Femto-ST Institute - DISC Department\\
52 Université de Franche-Comté\\
54 Email: \email{{raphael.couturier,arnaud.giersch,david.laiymani,charles.ramamonjisoa}@univ-fcomte.fr}
60 \AG{Ordre des autheurs pas définitif}
62 The abstract goes here.
65 \section{Introduction}
67 Parallel computing and high performance computing (HPC) are becoming
68 more and more imperative for solving various problems raised by
69 researchers on various scientific disciplines but also by industrial in
70 the field. Indeed, the increasing complexity of these requested
71 applications combined with a continuous increase of their sizes lead to
72 write distributed and parallel algorithms requiring significant hardware
73 resources (grid computing, clusters, broadband network, etc\dots{}) but
74 also a non-negligible CPU execution time. We consider in this paper a
75 class of highly efficient parallel algorithms called iterative executed
76 in a distributed environment. As their name suggests, these algorithm
77 solves a given problem that might be NP- complete complex by successive
78 iterations ($X_{n +1} = f(X_{n})$) from an initial value $X_{0}$ to find
79 an approximate value $X^*$ of the solution with a very low
80 residual error. Several well-known methods demonstrate the convergence
81 of these algorithms. Generally, to reduce the complexity and the
82 execution time, the problem is divided into several \emph{pieces} that will
83 be solved in parallel on multiple processing units. The latter will
84 communicate each intermediate results before a new iteration starts
85 until the approximate solution is reached. These distributed parallel
86 computations can be performed either in \emph{synchronous} communication mode
87 where a new iteration begin only when all nodes communications are
88 completed, either \emph{asynchronous} mode where processors can continue
89 independently without or few synchronization points. Despite the
90 effectiveness of iterative approach, a major drawback of the method is
91 the requirement of huge resources in terms of computing capacity,
92 storage and high speed communication network. Indeed, limited physical
93 resources are blocking factors for large-scale deployment of parallel
96 In recent years, the use of a simulation environment to execute parallel
97 iterative algorithms found some interests in reducing the highly cost of
98 access to computing resources: (1) for the applications development life
99 cycle and in code debugging (2) and in production to get results in a
100 reasonable execution time with a simulated infrastructure not accessible
101 with physical resources. Indeed, the launch of distributed iterative
102 asynchronous algorithms to solve a given problem on a large-scale
103 simulated environment challenges to find optimal configurations giving
104 the best results with a lowest residual error and in the best of
105 execution time. According our knowledge, no testing of large-scale
106 simulation of the class of algorithm solving to achieve real results has
107 been undertaken to date. We had in the scope of this work implemented a
108 program for solving large non-symmetric linear system of equations by
109 numerical method GMRES (Generalized Minimal Residual) in the simulation
110 environment SimGrid. The simulated platform had allowed us to launch
111 the application from a modest computing infrastructure by simulating
112 different distributed architectures composed by clusters nodes
113 interconnected by variable speed networks. In addition, it has been
114 permitted to show the effectiveness of asynchronous mode algorithm by
115 comparing its performance with the synchronous mode time. With selected
116 parameters on the network platforms (bandwidth, latency of inter cluster
117 network) and on the clusters architecture (number, capacity calculation
118 power) in the simulated environment, the experimental results have
119 demonstrated not only the algorithm convergence within a reasonable time
120 compared with the physical environment performance, but also a time
121 saving of up to \np[\%]{40} in asynchronous mode.
123 This article is structured as follows: after this introduction, the next
124 section will give a brief description of iterative asynchronous model.
125 Then, the simulation framework SimGrid will be presented with the
126 settings to create various distributed architectures. The algorithm of
127 the multi -splitting method used by GMRES written with MPI primitives
128 and its adaptation to SimGrid with SMPI (Simulated MPI) will be in the
129 next section. At last, the experiments results carried out will be
130 presented before the conclusion which we will announce the opening of
131 our future work after the results.
133 \section{The asynchronous iteration model}
135 Décrire le modèle asynchrone. Je m'en charge (DL)
139 Décrire SimGrid (Arnaud)
147 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
148 \section{Simulation of the multisplitting method}
149 %Décrire le problème (algo) traité ainsi que le processus d'adaptation à SimGrid.
150 Let $Ax=b$ be a large sparse system of $n$ linear equations in $\mathbb{R}$, where $A$ is a sparse square and nonsingular matrix, $x$ is the solution vector and $b$ is the right-hand side vector. We use a multisplitting method based on the block Jacobi partitioning to solve this linear system on a large scale platform composed of $L$ clusters of processors. In this case, we apply a row-by-row splitting without overlapping
152 \left(\begin{array}{ccc}
153 A_{11} & \cdots & A_{1L} \\
154 \vdots & \ddots & \vdots\\
155 A_{L1} & \cdots & A_{LL}
158 \left(\begin{array}{c}
164 \left(\begin{array}{c}
168 \end{array} \right)\]
169 in such a way that successive rows of matrix $A$ and both vectors $x$ and $b$ are assigned to one cluster, where for all $l,m\in\{1,\ldots,L\}$ $A_{lm}$ is a rectangular block of $A$ of size $n_l\times n_m$, $X_l$ and $B_l$ are sub-vectors of $x$ and $b$, respectively, each of size $n_l$ and $\sum_{l} n_l=\sum_{m} n_m=n$.
171 The multisplitting method proceeds by iteration to solve in parallel the linear system on $L$ clusters of processors, in such a way each sub-system
175 A_{ll}X_l = Y_l \mbox{,~such that}\\
176 Y_l = B_l - \displaystyle\sum_{\substack{m=1\\ m\neq l}}^{L}A_{lm}X_m
181 is solved independently by a cluster and communication are required to update the right-hand side sub-vector $Y_l$, such that the sub-vectors $X_m$ represent the data dependencies between the clusters. As each sub-system (\ref{eq:4.1}) is solved in parallel by a cluster of processors, our multisplitting method uses an iterative method as an inner solver which is easier to parallelize and more scalable than a direct method. In this work, we use the parallel algorithm of GMRES method~\cite{ref1} which is one of the most used iterative method by many researchers.
184 \caption{A multisplitting solver with GMRES method}
185 \begin{algorithmic}[1]
186 \Input $A_l$ (sparse sub-matrix), $B_l$ (right-hand side sub-vector)
187 \Output $X_l$ (solution sub-vector)\vspace{0.2cm}
188 \State Load $A_l$, $B_l$
189 \State Initialize the solution vector $x^0$
190 \For {$k=0,1,2,\ldots$ until the global convergence}
191 \State Restart outer iteration with $x^0=x^k$
192 \State Inner iteration: \Call{InnerSolver}{$x^0$, $k+1$}
193 \State Send shared elements of $X_l^{k+1}$ to neighboring clusters
194 \State Receive shared elements in $\{X_m^{k+1}\}_{m\neq l}$
199 \Function {InnerSolver}{$x^0$, $k$}
200 \State Compute local right-hand side $Y_l$: \[Y_l = B_l - \sum\nolimits^L_{\substack{m=1 \\m\neq l}}A_{lm}X_m^0\]
201 \State Solving sub-system $A_{ll}X_l^k=Y_l$ with the parallel GMRES method
202 \State \Return $X_l^k$
208 Algorithm~\ref{algo:01} shows the main key points of the multisplitting method to solve a large sparse linear system. This algorithm is based on an outer-inner iteration method such that the parallel GMRES method is used to solve the inner iteration. It is executed in parallel by each cluster of processors. For all $l,m\in\{1,\ldots,L\}$, the matrices and vectors with the subscript $l$ represent the local data for cluster $l$, while $\{A_{lm}\}_{m\neq l}$ are off-diagonal matrices of sparse matrix $A$ and $\{X_m\}_{m\neq l}$ contain vector elements of solution $x$ shared with neighboring clusters. At every outer iteration $k$, asynchronous communications are performed between processors of the local cluster and those of distant clusters (lines $6$ and $7$ in Algorithm~\ref{algo:01}). The shared vector elements of the solution $x$ are exchanged by message passing using MPI non-blocking communication routines.
212 \includegraphics[width=60mm,keepaspectratio]{clustering}
213 \caption{Example of three clusters of processors interconnected by a virtual unidirectional ring network.}
217 The global convergence of the asynchronous multisplitting solver is detected when the clusters of processors have all converged locally. We implemented the global convergence detection process as follows. On each cluster a master processor is designated (for example the processor with rank $1$) and masters of all clusters are interconnected by a virtual unidirectional ring network (see Figure~\ref{fig:4.1}). During the resolution, a Boolean token circulates around the virtual ring from a master processor to another until the global convergence is achieved. So starting from the cluster with rank $1$, each master processor $i$ sets the token to {\it True} if the local convergence is achieved or to {\it False} otherwise, and sends it to master processor $i+1$. Finally, the global convergence is detected when the master of cluster $1$ receive from the master of cluster $L$ a token set to {\it True}. In this case, the master of cluster $1$ sends a stop message to masters of other clusters. In this work, the local convergence on each cluster $l$ is detected when the following condition is satisfied
218 \[(k\leq \MI) \mbox{~or~} \|X_l^k - X_l^{k+1}\|_{\infty}\leq\epsilon\]
219 where $\MI$ is the maximum number of outer iterations and $\epsilon$ is the tolerance threshold of the error computed between two successive local solution $X_l^k$ and $X_l^{k+1}$.
220 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
229 \section{Experimental results}
231 When the ``real'' application runs in the simulation environment and produces
232 the expected results, varying the input parameters and the program arguments
233 allows us to compare outputs from the code execution. We have noticed from this
234 study that the results depend on the following parameters: (1) at the network
235 level, we found that the most critical values are the bandwidth (bw) and the
236 network latency (lat). (2) Hosts power (GFlops) can also influence on the
237 results. And finally, (3) when submitting job batches for execution, the
238 arguments values passed to the program like the maximum number of iterations or
239 the ``external'' precision are critical to ensure not only the convergence of the
240 algorithm but also to get the main objective of the experimentation of the
241 simulation in having an execution time in asynchronous less than in synchronous
242 mode, in others words, in having a ``speedup'' less than 1 (Speedup = Execution
243 time in synchronous mode / Execution time in asynchronous mode).
245 A priori, obtaining a speedup less than 1 would be difficult in a local area
246 network configuration where the synchronous mode will take advantage on the rapid
247 exchange of information on such high-speed links. Thus, the methodology adopted
248 was to launch the application on clustered network. In this last configuration,
249 degrading the inter-cluster network performance will \emph{penalize} the synchronous
250 mode allowing to get a speedup lower than 1. This action simulates the case of
251 clusters linked with long distance network like Internet.
253 As a first step, the algorithm was run on a network consisting of two clusters
254 containing fifty hosts each, totaling one hundred hosts. Various combinations of
255 the above factors have providing the results shown in Table~\ref{tab.cluster.2x50} with a matrix size
256 ranging from Nx = Ny = Nz = 62 to 171 elements or from $62^{3} = \np{238328}$ to
257 $171^{3} = \np{5211000}$ entries.
259 Then we have changed the network configuration using three clusters containing
260 respectively 33, 33 and 34 hosts, or again by on hundred hosts for all the
261 clusters. In the same way as above, a judicious choice of key parameters has
262 permitted to get the results in Table~\ref{tab.cluster.3x33} which shows the speedups less than 1 with
263 a matrix size from 62 to 100 elements.
265 In a final step, results of an execution attempt to scale up the three clustered
266 configuration but increasing by two hundreds hosts has been recorded in Table~\ref{tab.cluster.3x67}.
268 Note that the program was run with the following parameters:
270 \paragraph*{SMPI parameters}
273 \item HOSTFILE: Hosts file description.
274 \item PLATFORM: file description of the platform architecture : clusters (CPU power,
275 \dots{}), intra cluster network description, inter cluster network (bandwidth bw,
276 lat latency, \dots{}).
280 \paragraph*{Arguments of the program}
283 \item Description of the cluster architecture;
284 \item Maximum number of internal and external iterations;
285 \item Internal and external precisions;
286 \item Matrix size NX, NY and NZ;
287 \item Matrix diagonal value = 6.0;
288 \item Execution Mode: synchronous or asynchronous.
293 \caption{2 clusters X 50 nodes}
294 \label{tab.cluster.2x50}
295 \AG{Les images manquent dans le dépôt Git. Si ce sont vraiment des tableaux, utiliser un format vectoriel (eps ou pdf), et surtout pas de jpeg!}
296 \includegraphics[width=209pt]{img1.jpg}
301 \caption{3 clusters X 33 nodes}
302 \label{tab.cluster.3x33}
303 \AG{Le fichier manque.}
304 \includegraphics[width=209pt]{img2.jpg}
309 \caption{3 clusters X 67 nodes}
310 \label{tab.cluster.3x67}
311 \AG{Le fichier manque.}
312 % \includegraphics[width=160pt]{img3.jpg}
313 \includegraphics[scale=0.5]{img3.jpg}
316 \paragraph*{Interpretations and comments}
318 After analyzing the outputs, generally, for the configuration with two or three
319 clusters including one hundred hosts (Tables~\ref{tab.cluster.2x50} and~\ref{tab.cluster.3x33}), some combinations of the
320 used parameters affecting the results have given a speedup less than 1, showing
321 the effectiveness of the asynchronous performance compared to the synchronous
324 In the case of a two clusters configuration, Table~\ref{tab.cluster.2x50} shows that with a
325 deterioration of inter cluster network set with \np[Mbits/s]{5} of bandwidth, a latency
326 in order of a hundredth of a millisecond and a system power of one GFlops, an
327 efficiency of about \np[\%]{40} in asynchronous mode is obtained for a matrix size of 62
328 elements. It is noticed that the result remains stable even if we vary the
329 external precision from \np{E-5} to \np{E-9}. By increasing the problem size up to 100
330 elements, it was necessary to increase the CPU power of \np[\%]{50} to \np[GFlops]{1.5} for a
331 convergence of the algorithm with the same order of asynchronous mode efficiency.
332 Maintaining such a system power but this time, increasing network throughput
333 inter cluster up to \np[Mbits/s]{50}, the result of efficiency of about \np[\%]{40} is
334 obtained with high external precision of \np{E-11} for a matrix size from 110 to 150
337 For the 3 clusters architecture including a total of 100 hosts, Table~\ref{tab.cluster.3x33} shows
338 that it was difficult to have a combination which gives an efficiency of
339 asynchronous below \np[\%]{80}. Indeed, for a matrix size of 62 elements, equality
340 between the performance of the two modes (synchronous and asynchronous) is
341 achieved with an inter cluster of \np[Mbits/s]{10} and a latency of \np{E-1} ms. To
342 challenge an efficiency by \np[\%]{78} with a matrix size of 100 points, it was
343 necessary to degrade the inter cluster network bandwidth from 5 to 2 Mbit/s.
345 A last attempt was made for a configuration of three clusters but more power
346 with 200 nodes in total. The convergence with a speedup of \np[\%]{90} was obtained
347 with a bandwidth of \np[Mbits/s]{1} as shown in Table~\ref{tab.cluster.3x67}.
351 \section*{Acknowledgment}
354 The authors would like to thank\dots{}
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