Current parallel I/O limitations to scalable data analysis.

Abstract

This report describes the limitations to parallel scalability which we have encountered when applying our otherwise optimally scalable parallel statistical analysis tool kit to large data sets distributed across the parallel file system of the current premier DOE computational facility. This report describes our study to evaluate the effect of parallel I/O on the overall scalability of a parallel data analysis pipeline using our scalable parallel statistics tool kit [PTBM11]. In this goal, we tested it using the Jaguar-pf DOE/ORNL peta-scale platform on a large combustion simulation data under a variety of process counts and domain decompositions scenarios. In this report we have recalled the foundations of the parallel statistical analysis tool kit which we have designed and implemented, with the specific double intent of reproducing typical data analysis workflows, and achieving optimal design for scalable parallel implementations. We have briefly reviewed those earlier results and publications which allow us to conclude that we have achieved both goals. However, in this report we have further established that, when used in conjuction with a state-of-the-art parallel I/O system, as can be found on the premier DOE peta-scale platform, the scaling properties of the overall analysis pipeline comprising parallel data access routines degrade rapidly. This finding is problematic and must be addressed if peta-scale data analysis is to be made scalable, or even possible. In order to attempt to address these parallel I/O limitations, we will investigate the use the Adaptable IO System (ADIOS) [LZL+10] to improve I/O performance, while maintaining flexibility for a variety of IO options, such MPI IO, POSIX IO. This system is developed at ORNL and other collaborating institutions, and is being tested extensively on Jaguar-pf. Simulation code being developed on these systems will also use ADIOS to output the data thereby making it easier for other systems, such as ours, to process that data.