The primary metric for memory bandwidth in multicore processors is that maximum sustained performance when using many cores. For most high-end processors these values have remained in the range of 75% to 85% of the peak DRAM bandwidth of the system over the past 15-20 years — an amazing accomplishment… read more
STREAM benchmark
The Surprising Effectiveness of Non-Overlapping, Sensitivity-Based Performance Models
This was a keynote presentation at the “2nd International Workshop on Performance Modeling: Methods and Applications” (PMMA16), June 23, 2016, Frankfurt, Germany (in conjunction with ISC16). The presentation discusses a family of simple performance models that I developed over the last 20 years — originally in support of processor and… read more
Timing Methodology for MPI Programs
While working on the implementation of the MPI version of the STREAM benchmark, I realized that there were some subtleties in timing that could easily lead to inaccurate and/or misleading results. This post is a transcription of my notes as I looked at the issues…. Primary requirement: I want a… read more