Performance Technology for Parallel and Distributed Component Software

A. Malony¹, S. Shende ¹, N. Trebon¹, J. Ray², R. Armstrong², C. Rasmussen³, and M. Sottile^3
1Department of Computer and Information Science, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA
²Sandia National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94551, USA
³Los Alamos National Laboratory, Advanced Computing Lab, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA

Abstract:

This work targets the emerging use of software component technology for high-performance scientific parallel and distributed computing. While component software engineering will benefit the construction of complex science applications, its use presents several challenges to performance measurment, analysis, and optimization. The performance of a component application depends on the interaction (possibly non-linear) of the composed component set. Furthermore, a component is a ``binary unit of composition'' and the only information users have is the interface the component provides to the outside world. A performance engineering methodology and development approach is presented to address evaluation and optimization issues in high-performance component environments. We describe a prototype implementation of a performance measurement infrastructure for the Common Component Architecture (CCA) system. A case study demonstrating the use of this technology for integrated measurement, monitoring, and optimization in CCA component-based applications is given.

Keywords: component software, performance, parallel, distributed, optimization