Towards using and improving the NAS parallel benchmarks: a parallel patterns approach

  • Authors:
  • Vivek Kale

  • Affiliations:
  • University of Illinois, Urbana, IL

  • Venue:
  • Proceedings of the 2010 Workshop on Parallel Programming Patterns
  • Year:
  • 2010

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Abstract

The NAS parallel benchmarks, originally developed by NASA for evaluating performance of their high-performance computers, have been regarded as one of the most widely used benchmark suites for side-by-side comparisons of high-performance machines. However, even though the NAS parallel benchmarks have grown tremendously in the last two decades, documentation is lagging behind because of rapid changes and additions to the collection of benchmark codes primarily due to rapid innovation of parallel architectures. Consequently, the learning curve for beginning graduate students, researchers, or software systems engineers to pick up these benchmarks is typically huge. In this paper, we document and assess the NAS parallel benchmark suite by identifying parallel patterns within the NAS benchmark codes. We believe that such documentation of the benchmarks will allow researchers as well as those in industry to understand, use and modify these codes more effectively.