Using MPI (Globus Version) on the Alliance Grid Testbed
Description
One of the most exciting and emerging computing
paradigms is parallel programming using a geographically
distributed grid of diverse machines. This PACS workshop,
intended for novice grid programmers, will explain in
detail a step-by-step procedure for running MPI programs
on such a computational grid.
In addition to lectures, the workshop will also provide lab time for attendees
to use the Alliance Grid Testbed (AGT) to run test parallel programs. The
AGT consists of nationally distributed clusters with 16 - 32 compute nodes,
dual 2.4 GHz Pentium 4 Xeon processors, 2 GB of RAM, 60 GB of local scratch
space, Gigabit Ethernet, one head node, and a storage node.
After an initial discussion of the salient features (from a user's point
of view) of the overall structure and capabilities of the AGT, the topic will
shift to the grid enabling software itself: i.e., the Globus Toolkit. The
toolkit components that a grid programmer will be required to use will be
described. Important Globus software tools include those for user certificate
authentication and user specifications of exactly what grid resources their
program will need.
Finally, the coding, compiling, and execution of
parallel programs using the MPICH-G2 version of the popular
(and standardized) Message Passing Interface library
will be described thoroughly. The MPICH-G2 interface allows
the user's MPI code to work with Globus to effectively use the
grid for parallel programming. In addition, modifications to
MPI program design and structure to allow efficient parallel
execution on a grid will be presented. Several sample programs
written to demonstrate common MPI practices and their output
will be examined.
Prerequisites
Introductory level knowledge of MPI
Target Audience
Diverse. MPI programmers, Globus Toolkit
users, and (in general) anyone interested in Grid Computing
Method of Delivery
Lecture and hands-on laboratory
Handouts
October 2003, Part
One PDF and Part Two
PDF, David Ennis and Jim Giuliani
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