ReSHAPE: A Framework for Dynamic Resizing and Scheduling of Homogeneous Applications in a Parallel Environment

Applications in science and engineering often require huge computational resources for solving problems within a reasonable time frame. Parallel supercomputers provide the computational infrastructure for solving such problems. A traditional application scheduler running on a parallel cluster only supports static scheduling where the number of processors allocated to an application remains fixed throughout the lifetime of execution of the job. Due to the unpredictability in job arrival times and varying resource requirements, static scheduling can result in idle system resources thereby decreasing the overall system throughput. In this paper we present a prototype framework called ReSHAPE, which supports dynamic resizing of parallel MPI applications executed on distributed memory platforms. The framework includes a scheduler that supports resizing of applications, an API to enable applications to interact with the scheduler, and a library that makes resizing viable. Applications executed using the ReSHAPE scheduler framework can expand to take advantage of additional free processors or can shrink to accommodate a high priority application, without getting suspended. In our research, we have mainly focused on structured applications that have two-dimensional data arrays distributed across a two-dimensional processor grid. The resize library includes algorithms for processor selection and processor mapping. Experimental results show that the ReSHAPE framework can improve individual job turn-around time and overall system throughput.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, 5 tables Submitted to International Conference on Parallel Processing (ICPP'07

Priority-enabled Scheduling for Resizable Parallel Applications

In this paper, we illustrate the impact of dynamic resizability on parallel scheduling. Our ReSHAPE framework includes an application scheduler that supports dynamic resizing of parallel applications. We propose and evaluate new scheduling policies made possible by our ReSHAPE framework. The framework also provides a platform to experiment with more interesting and sophisticated scheduling policies and scenarios for resizable parallel applications. The proposed policies support scheduling of parallel applications with and without user assigned priorities. Experimental results show that these scheduling policies significantly improve individual application turn around time as well as overall cluster utilization

Economic Impact of CDM Implementation through Alternate Energy Resource Substitution

Since the Kyoto protocol agreement, Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has garnered large emphasis in terms of certified emission reductions (CER) not only amidst the global carbon market but also in India. This paper attempts to assess the impact of CDM towards sustainable development particularly in rural domestic utility sector that mainly includes lighting and cooking applications, with electricity as the source of energy. A detailed survey has undertaken in the state of Kerala, in southern part of India to study the rural domestic energy consumption pattern. The data collected was analyzed that throws insight into the interrelationships of the various parameters that influence domestic utility sector pertaining to energy consumption by using electricity as the source of energy. The interrelationships between the different parameters were modeled that optimizes the contribution of electricity on domestic utility sector. The results were used to estimate the feasible extent of CO2 emission reduction through use of electricity as the energy resources, vis-à-vis its economic viability through cost effectiveness. The analysis also provides a platform for implementing CDM projects in the sector and related prospects with respects to the Indian scenari

Process alarm management - An investment towards safe and reliable operations

Master's thesis in Technology and Operations ManagementMost of the commercial buildings and private homes are configured with a certain number of alarms to deal with emergency situations, such as fire alarms, HVAC fail alarms, theft alarms, water leakage alarms etc. However, for an industrial process plant, all alarms and their configuration parameters collectively feed into a big database. For a typical offshore installation, the alarm database for the integrated control and safety system may consist of 40000 to 150000 alarms which must be monitored. Considering the vastness of an alarm database for a process installation, and the risk of missing critical alarms, there is a need for a regulated and a guided system to handle and integrate all aspects of alarm engineering to create a functional alarm system. Such an alarm system must: • Be built on “principles of alarm design” for process industries • Be complaint with applicable regulations • Be usable by process operators in management of abnormal situations • Perform in line with organisational performance measures As process industries are getting increasingly complex, with new technologies and expansion projects, process operators are becoming overloaded with new systems and new alarms dominate the unnecessary disturbance. Alarm systems need to be well specified and maintained to ensure safe operations. During the period between August 2000 and September 2002, NPD (Norwegian Petroleum Directorate) has carried out the supervision of alarm systems on seven production facilities within the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Authorised mapping of alarm systems revealed essentially the same weaknesses and same problem areas, independent of system vendor, operating company, type of facility and age of device. Despite the limited mapping that has been made, NPD find it reasonable to assume that, the results from these activities are somewhat representative of the challenges of other facilities on the Norwegian continental shelf. This thesis will choose to provide a proactive approach to draft various procedures for a functional alarm system with all the specifics mentioned above for an alarm system within the frame work of regulations limited to Norwegian continental shelf. A well-functioned alarm system combines with coordinated operations management can drive not only safety and ensure regulatory compliance but promote better plant availability and throughput, delivering real business value. (Honeywell, 2017

Measurement of Near-Threshold Proton Branching Ratios in 31S Important for Novae

Classical novae are stellar explosions that contribute to the nucleosynthesis of isotopes on the proton-rich side of the valley of stability up to 40Ca. In ONe novae, the incompletely understood reaction rate of 30P(p,γ)31S is known to strongly influence the production rate of several stable isotopes such as 30Si, 31P, and 32,33,34S. A precise measurement of this reaction rate has several potential implications towards matching astrophysical observables to the physical composition of the nova site -- the observed elemental abundance ratios of O/S and S/Al have been suggested as useful `thermometers\u27 to gauge the temperature of nova explosions, while the Si/H ratio observed is predicted to be correlated with the degree of mixing between accreted hydrogenic matter and the heavier elements in the white-dwarf surface. In addition, the abundance of 30Si relative to 28Si has been suggested as a potential tracer to distinguish between pre-solar meteoritic grains with ONe nova origins and grains with supernova/solar origins. We used the Super Enge Split-pole spectrograph (SE-SPS) at Florida State University to study levels close to the proton threshold of 31S using the 28Si(6Li, t)31S transfer reaction. The Silicon Array for Branching Ratio Experiments (SABRE) was used to detect protons emitted from unbound states in 31S, in coincidence with tritons detected at the focal plane of the SE-SPS. Decay protons from the Ex = 6.636 MeV resonance in 31S were observed for the first time. The measured 31S level structure, proton-branching ratios and spin-parities were used to determine an updated 30P(p,γ)31S reaction rate

Theory as Elite: The Phenomenological Dilemma of Dalit Critique

In recent debates on the theoretical framework of social sciences, Indian political scientist Gopal Guru mounted a critique that Indian social science is not representative and egalitarian. In the same breath, Gopal Guru sought to rationalise this lacuna. Guru claimed that the works of Dalit scholars and thinkers are more performance-oriented and less theoretical. This paper would raise several issues with reference to Gopal Guru’s claims: Does theory belong to an elite category? Does the lack of representation of Dalit scholarship present a theoretical conundrum for Indian social sciences? Is Gopal Guru falling into the trap of hierarchical complementarity between theory and performance/praxis? And, is there an intractable dilemma among the Dalit scholars between the politics of representation and the politics of ideas? This paper demonstrates that Guru’s insistence on the moral, existential and social necessity of the Dalit theory is valid. But he is wrong in what he denies

Explaining Investment Policies in Microstates: The Case of the Fiji Islands

Prevailing theories have failed to take into account the development of policy and institutions in microstates that are engineered to attract investments in areas of comparative advantage as these small islands confront the challenges of globalization and instead have emphasized migration, remittances and foreign aid (MIRAB) as an explanation for the survival of microstates in the global economy. This dissertation challenges the MIRAB model as an adequate explanation of investment strategy in microstates and argues that comparative advantage is a better theory to explain policy behavior of microstates. These small economies can take advantage of their exotic locations and natural endowments of sun and sand to develop a robust tourism sector through prudent investments and incentives in collaboration with stakeholders in the industry. This case study on the Fiji Islands will demonstrate that microstates are capable of developing policy instruments that encourage investments, even during periods of deep political crisis, thus underscoring a maturation of institutions in small post-colonial societies. The development of the tourism industry in Fiji was neither an ad hoc exercise nor an instance of creation ex nihilo, as both government and the private sector recognized over time the economic potential of tourism as a conduit for national development. The state collaborated in this endeavor by building institutions and supporting investments in hopes of capitalizing on the positive spillovers that could occur from a robust tourist industry. This dissertation argues that investments undertaken by the Fiji Islands in the tourism sector was a rational strategy to fully exploit its comparative advantage through the development of sophisticated institutional and organizational structures that emerged to meet the challenges of a complex global industry