21 Questions
What is one major motivation of using parallel processing?
To achieve a speedup
What limited the maximum speedup achieved in DEMO 1?
Communication between processors
What can be done to improve the speedup in parallel processing?
Minimize the cost of communication
What was the limitation in DEMO 2?
Imbalance in work assignment
What can be done to improve the distribution of work in parallel processing?
Move processors closer together
What is the goal of parallel programming?
To write programs that are explicitly parallel
What can dominate a parallel computation and limit speedup?
Communication costs
What is an example of a parallel computer mentioned in the text?
US Has Its First Exascale Supercomputer (Frontier)
What is the current focus in building next-generation ML infrastructure for large model training?
Supercomputers for Machine Learning
What is the main challenge in automatically converting serial programs into parallel programs?
Difficulty in write translation programs
What is the processing power of a single TPU v4 Chip?
275 TeraFlops
How many chips are present in a TPU v4 Cluster Pod?
4096 Chips
What is an alternative approach to automatically converting serial programs into parallel programs?
Rewrite serial programs to be parallel
What is the primary goal of parallel computing?
To improve the efficiency of computations
What is a key factor to consider when optimizing parallel programs?
All of the above
What is the main advantage of parallel architectures?
Increased processing power
What is the primary concern when designing parallel programs?
Scalability
What is the main reason to study parallel computer hardware implementation?
Because the characteristics of the machine really matter
What is the key to achieving efficient parallel programs?
Minimizing communication overhead
What is the difference between speedup and efficiency?
Speedup is a measure of relative performance, while efficiency is a measure of absolute performance
What is the primary goal of parallel thinking in parallel programming?
Decomposing work into pieces that can safely be performed in parallel
Study Notes
Introduction to Parallel Computing
- CSCI465/ECEN433 course covers three main themes: parallel computer hardware implementation, designing and writing parallel programs, and thinking about efficiency
- Parallel computing involves mechanisms to implement abstractions efficiently, considering performance characteristics and design trade-offs
Parallel Computer Hardware Implementation
- Performance characteristics of implementations are crucial to understand
- Design trade-offs include balancing performance, convenience, and cost
- Understanding hardware is essential for efficient parallel programming
Designing and Writing Parallel Programs
- Decomposing work into parallel tasks is key
- Assigning work to processors and managing communication/synchronization are critical
- Abstractions and mechanisms for parallel programming include Message-Passing Interface (MPI), OpenMP, and others
- Writing code in popular parallel programming languages is necessary
Thinking about Efficiency
- FAST != EFFICIENT; speedup on parallel computers does not guarantee efficiency
- Evaluating efficiency involves considering factors like processor utilization and communication costs
- Is 2x speedup on a 10-processor computer a good result?
Parallel Computing Concepts
- Speedup: a major motivation for using parallel processing
- Communication costs can limit speedup
- Minimizing communication costs and improving work distribution can improve speedup
Demo Observations
- DEMO 1: communication limited maximum speedup achieved
- DEMO 2: imbalance in work assignment limited speedup
- DEMO 3: communication costs dominated parallel computation, limiting speedup
Course Roadmap
- Topics include parallel architecture, parallel programming, performance measurement and tuning, and optimizing parallel computing
- Lectures will cover why parallelism and efficiency are important
This quiz covers the basics of parallel computing, including parallel computer hardware implementation, performance characteristics, and design trade-offs. It also introduces the Message-Passing Interface (MPI) and OpenMP extensions to C.
Make Your Own Quizzes and Flashcards
Convert your notes into interactive study material.
Get started for free
