Performance sensitivity studies for strategic applications

Abstract

This paper applies modeling and simulation to key HPCMP systems and applications to determine the degree to which fundamental system attributes affect application performance. Synthetic probes are used to ascertain target system capabilities, while application tracing is used to uncover the memory and communication usage characteristics of target codes. A predictive model subsequently melds system and application data in order to project a time-to-solution for each application and system pair. System attributes are then systematically modified, and the predictive model is again applied, to determine the sensitivity of application performance to key system attributes. Time-to-solution predictions for five application tes