Location:
This course will take place face-to-face at Imperial College London
This course will not be streamed online and a recording will not be made.
Overview:
The world’s largest supercomputers are used almost exclusively to run applications which are parallelised using Message Passing. The course covers all the basic knowledge required to write parallel programs using this programming model, and is directly applicable to almost every parallel computer architecture.
Parallel programming by definition involves co-operation between processes to solve a common task. The programmer has to define the tasks that will be executed by the processors, and also how these tasks are to synchronise and exchange data with one another. In the message-passing model the tasks are separate processes that communicate and synchronise by explicitly sending each other messages. All these parallel operations are performed via calls to some message-passing interface that is entirely responsible for interfacing with the physical communication network linking the actual processors together. This course uses the de facto standard for message passing, the Message Passing Interface (MPI). It covers point-to-point communication, non-blocking operations, derived datatypes, virtual topologies, collective communication and general design issues.
The course is normally delivered in an intensive three-day format using EPCC’s dedicated training facilities. It is taught using a variety of methods including formal lectures, practical exercises, programming examples and informal tutorial discussions. This enables lecture material to be supported by the tutored practical sessions in order to reinforce the key concepts.
This course is free to all academics.
Intended Learning Outcomes:
On completion of this course students should be able to: Understand the message-passing model in detail. Implement standard message-passing algorithms in MPI. Debug simple MPI codes. Measure and comment on the performance of MPI codes. Design and implement efficient parallel programs to solve regular-grid problems.
Pre-requisite Programming Languages:
C, C++ or Fortran. The course does not cover the details of how to use MPI from Python.
Requirements:
Participants must bring a laptop with a Mac, Linux, or Windows operating system (not a tablet, Chromebook, etc.) that they have administrative privileges on.
They are also required to abide by the ARCHER2 Code of Conduct.
Timetable:
Day 1 Wednesday 22nd February
- 10:00 Welcome
- 10:15 Message-Passing Concepts
- 11:00 Practical: Parallel Traffic Modelling
- 11:15 Break
- 11:45 MPI Programs
- 12:15 MPI on ARCHER2
- 12:30 Practical: Hello World
- 13:00 Lunch
- 14:00 Point-to-Point Communication
- 14:45 Practical: Pi
- 15:30 Break
- 16:00 Communicators, Tags and Modes
- 17:00 Practical: Pi / Ping-Pong
- 17:30 Finish
Day 2 Thursday 23rd February
- 10:00 Pi Solution
- 10:30 Non-Blocking Communication
- 11:00 Practical: Message Round a Ring
- 11:15 Break
- 11:45 Practical: Message Round a Ring
- 12:30 Collective Communication
- 13:00 Lunch
- 14:00 Practical: Collective Communication
- 14:30 Virtual Topologies
- 15:00 Practical: Message Round a Ring
- 15:30 Break
- 16:00 Derived Data Types
- 16:45 Practical: Message Round a Ring
- 17:30 Finish
Day 3 Friday 24th February
- 10:00 MPI Quiz
- 10:45 Practical: Case Study
- 11:15 Break
- 11:45 Tricks and Tips
- 12:30 Practical: Case Study
- 13:00 Lunch
- 14:00 Individual Consultancy Sessions / Finish Case Study
- 15:00 Finish