Problem size scaling in the presence of parallel overhead

✍ Scribed by Dieter Müller-Wichards

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1991
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 611 KB
• Volume: 17
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0167-8191
• DOI: 10.1016/s0167-8191(05)80003-1

✦ Synopsis

Mialler-Wichards, D., Problem size scaling in the presence of parallel overhead, Parallel Computing 17 (1991) 1361-1376. In this paper we study the performance of applications on multiprocessor systems. In particular we investigate the effect of synchronization and parallelization overhead where the fact that part of the application may be inherently sequential is taken into account. By relating our assumptions to an earlier work by Flatt and Kennedy we establish that the overhead function can be characterized using the concept of convex functions_ In order to observe a satisfactory payoff for increased processing power it is essential to increase the problem size accordingly. We discuss linear and nonlinear scaling schemes and compare the corresponding asymptotic performance behaviour. Throughout this investigation we profit from the well developed mathematical apparatus of convex functions.