NASA
High Performance Computing
and Communications Program
Computational AeroSciences Project
Computing Testbeds: Babbage -- 160 wide node IBM SP2
Objective: This program will support the accelerated development of cost- effective, high performance computing machinery from domestic vendors in order to benefit the aerospace industry through the creation of a "beta-test" prototype computing facility scalable to TeraFLOPs and through the evaluation of the functionality and robustness of associated system software.
Approach: As part of the HPCCP CAS testbed Cooperative Research Agreement with IBM, the SP2 at NASA Ames ("babbage") provides a system capable of running large problems while testing the limits of scalability in user codes and system software. By providing the latest software and platforms for software development, key tools can be developed in balance with overall usability.
Accomplishments: The Hardware Performance Monitor, a set of tools that allow the direct monitoring of floating point and memory system performance, has been developed and installed on the SP2 testbed. The tools, collectively known as the Parallel Hardware Performance Monitor (PHPM) software, provide direct access to the hardware instruction counters of the IBM Power 2 multi-chip processor, automatically measuring performance of parallel jobs and of the system as a whole, and providing users with the ability to monitor their own applications. The PHPM software, which is based on a set of tools developed at the Center for Scientific Computing in Finland, provides functionality that was previously only available on parallel-vector processors (Cray Research machines), and has not previously been available on any large RISC-based parallel computer.
Boeing is using babbage to reduce microphone array data in support of the Flap-Edge II Testing being conducted in the 7- by 10-Foot Low Speed Wind Tunnel. Data collected from 148 transducers is being reduced into frequency domain correlation matrices and then analyzed using beamforming techniques to produce high density volumetric noise source location information. This data is integrated around key locations such as the flap-edge to produce spectral plots for comparison between various configurations. Visualization of the noise sources is achieved using the NAS developed Flow Analysis Software Toolkit (FAST) to produce isosurface plots.
Significance: The PHPM software provides a detailed picture of system performance, so that poorly performing applications can be identified and targeted for optimization, makes possible a more direct comparison of the SP2's performance with that of traditional parallel-vector supercomputers, and gives other valuable feedback to code developers and system administrators.
Future Plans: In addition to the Metacenter activities, work is continuing on DCE/DFS integration, I/O development work, and maintaining a usable system for developers and users. Boeing plans to use babbage again in its latest wind tunnel tests.
Point of Contact:
Leigh Ann Tanner
NASA Ames Research Center
MS 258-6
Moffett Field, CA 94035
tanner@nas.nasa.gov
(415)604-4306