Visualizing the memory performance of parallel programs with Chiron

Bibliography: leaves 78-81.This thesis describes Chiron, visualization system which helps programmers detect memory system bottlenecks in their shared-memory parallel applications. Chiron is different from most other performance debugging tools in that it uses three-dimensional graphics techniques to display vast amounts of memory-performance data. Both code-and data-oriented information can be presented in several views. These views have been designed to help the user detect problems which cause coherence interference or replacement interference. Chiron’s interactive user-interface enables the user to manipulate the views and home in on features which indicate memory system bottlenecks. The visualized data can be augmented with more detailed numerical and correlations between the separate views can be displayed. The effectiveness of Chiron is illustrated in this thesis by means of three case studies

Visualizing the performance of parallel programs

Bibliography: pages 110-115.The performance analysis of parallel programs is a complex task, particularly if the program has to be efficient over a wide range of parallel machines. We have designed a performance analysis system called Chiron that uses scientific visualization techniques to guide and help the user in performance analysis activities. The aim of Chiron is to give the user full control over what section of the data he/she wants to investigate in detail. Chiron uses interactive three-dimensional graphics techniques to display large amounts of data in a compact and easy to understand/ conceptualize way. The system assists in the tracking of performance bottlenecks by showing data in 10 different views and allowing the user to interact with the data. In this thesis the design and implementation of Chiron are described, and its effectiveness illustrated by means of three case studies