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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 469 records · Page 26
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1990

Responsive systems - The challenge for the nineties

A concept of responsive computer systems will be introduced. The emerging responsive systems demand fault-tolerant and real-time performance in parallel and distributed computing environments. The design methodologies for fault-tolerant, real time and responsive systems will be presented. Novel techniques of introducing redundancy for improved performance and dependability will be illustrated. The methods of system responsiveness evaluation will be proposed. The issues of determinism, closed and open systems will also be discussed from the perspective of responsive systems design.

Malek, Miroslaw↗
NASA NTRS2005

10 Gigabit Ethernet Performance on SGI Altix and Origin Systems

As the state of high performance computing continues to advance, the size of datasets continue to grow, driving a need for high bandwidth data networks. family of networks. 10 Gigabit Ethernet is the latest step in the popular Ethernet We have evaluated the S2io Xframe 10 Gigabit Ethernet adapter on 512p SGI Altix systems running ProPack 3, and Origin systems running Irix 6.5.24 and 6.5.26 in our production supercomputing environment. We encountered a number of performance and stability issues, which were promptly dealt with by SGI and S2io. Using nttcp we tested TCP performance for single and multiple streams, and we tested file transfer using NFS and bbftp. We will present the results of our testing, including the effects of various tuning options on throughput and CPU utilization, and offer suggestions for configuring and tuning S2io 10 Gigabit Ethernet cards in an Altix/Linux or Origin/Irix environment.

Meyer, Andy↗
NASA NTRS1987

Development of a computational aero/fluids analysis system

The Computational Aero/Fluids Analysis System (AFAS) provides the analytical capability to perform state-of-the-art computational analyses in two difficult fluid dynamics disciplines associated with the Space Shuttle program. This system provides the analysis tools and techniques for rapidly and efficiently accessing, analyzing, and reformulating the large and expanding external aerodynamic data base while also providing tools for complex fluid flow analyses of the SSME engine components. Both of these fluid flow disciplines, external aerodynamics and internal gasdynamics, required this capability to ensure that MSFC can respond in a timely manner as problems are encountered and operational changes are made in the Space Shuttle.

Kelley, P. B.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Evaluating the potential of disaggregated memory systems for HPC applications

Summary Disaggregated memory is a promising approach that addresses the limitations of traditional memory architectures by enabling memory to be decoupled from compute nodes and shared across a data center. Cloud platforms have deployed such systems to improve overall system memory utilization, but performance can vary across workloads. High‐performance computing (HPC) is crucial in scientific and engineering applications, where HPC machines also face the issue of underutilized memory. As a result, improving system memory utilization while understanding workload performance is essential for HPC operators. Therefore, learning the potential of a disaggregated memory system before deployment is a critical step. This paper proposes a methodology for exploring the design space of a disaggregated memory system. It incorporates key metrics that affect performance on disaggregated memory systems: memory capacity, local and remote memory access ratio, injection bandwidth, and bisection bandwidth, providing an intuitive approach to guide machine configurations based on technology trends and workload characteristics. We apply our methodology to analyze thirteen diverse workloads, including AI training, data analysis, genomics, protein, fusion, atomic nuclei, and traditional HPC bookends. Our methodology demonstrates the ability to comprehend the potential and pitfalls of a disaggregated memory system and provides motivation for machine configurations. Our results show that eleven of our thirteen applications can leverage injection bandwidth disaggregated memory without affecting performance, while one pays a rack bisection bandwidth penalty and two pay the system‐wide bisection bandwidth penalty. In addition, we also show that intra‐rack memory disaggregation would meet the application's memory requirement and provide enough remote memory bandwidth.

Ding, Nan↗
NASA NTRS1976

Launch Processing System

This paper presents a functional description of the Launch Processing System, which provides automatic ground checkout and control of the Space Shuttle launch site and airborne systems, with emphasis placed on the Checkout, Control, and Monitor Subsystem. Hardware and software modular design concepts for the distributed computer system are reviewed relative to performing system tests, launch operations control, and status monitoring during ground operations. The communication network design, which uses a Common Data Buffer interface to all computers to allow computer-to-computer communication, is discussed in detail.

Byrne, F.↗
NASA NTRS1993

High-performance mass storage system for workstations

Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) workstations and Personnel Computers (PC) are very popular tools for office automation, command and control, scientific analysis, database management, and many other applications. However, when using Input/Output (I/O) intensive applications, the RISC workstations and PC's are often overburdened with the tasks of collecting, staging, storing, and distributing data. Also, by using standard high-performance peripherals and storage devices, the I/O function can still be a common bottleneck process. Therefore, the high-performance mass storage system, developed by Loral AeroSys' Independent Research and Development (IR&D) engineers, can offload a RISC workstation of I/O related functions and provide high-performance I/O functions and external interfaces. The high-performance mass storage system has the capabilities to ingest high-speed real-time data, perform signal or image processing, and stage, archive, and distribute the data. This mass storage system uses a hierarchical storage structure, thus reducing the total data storage cost, while maintaining high-I/O performance. The high-performance mass storage system is a network of low-cost parallel processors and storage devices. The nodes in the network have special I/O functions such as: SCSI controller, Ethernet controller, gateway controller, RS232 controller, IEEE488 controller, and digital/analog converter. The nodes are interconnected through high-speed direct memory access links to form a network. The topology of the network is easily reconfigurable to maximize system throughput for various applications. This high-performance mass storage system takes advantage of a 'busless' architecture for maximum expandability. The mass storage system consists of magnetic disks, a WORM optical disk jukebox, and an 8mm helical scan tape to form a hierarchical storage structure. Commonly used files are kept in the magnetic disk for fast retrieval. The optical disks are used as archive media, and the tapes are used as backup media. The storage system is managed by the IEEE mass storage reference model-based UniTree software package. UniTree software will keep track of all files in the system, will automatically migrate the lesser used files to archive media, and will stage the files when needed by the system. The user can access the files without knowledge of their physical location. The high-performance mass storage system developed by Loral AeroSys will significantly boost the system I/O performance and reduce the overall data storage cost. This storage system provides a highly flexible and cost-effective architecture for a variety of applications (e.g., realtime data acquisition with a signal and image processing requirement, long-term data archiving and distribution, and image analysis and enhancement).

Chiang, T.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Scheduling Operations for Massive Heterogeneous Clusters

High-performance computing (HPC) programming has become increasingly difficult with the advent of hybrid supercomputers consisting of multicore CPUs and accelerator boards such as the GPU. Manual tuning of software to achieve high performance on this type of machine has been performed by programmers. This is needlessly difficult and prone to being invalidated by new hardware, new software, or changes in the underlying code. A system was developed for task-based representation of programs, which when coupled with a scheduler and runtime system, allows for many benefits, including higher performance and utilization of computational resources, easier programming and porting, and adaptations of code during runtime. The system consists of a method of representing computer algorithms as a series of data-dependent tasks. The series forms a graph, which can be scheduled for execution on many nodes of a supercomputer efficiently by a computer algorithm. The schedule is executed by a dispatch component, which is tailored to understand all of the hardware types that may be available within the system. The scheduler is informed by a cluster mapping tool, which generates a topology of available resources and their strengths and communication costs. Software is decoupled from its hardware, which aids in porting to future architectures. A computer algorithm schedules all operations, which for systems of high complexity (i.e., most NASA codes), cannot be performed optimally by a human. The system aids in reducing repetitive code, such as communication code, and aids in the reduction of redundant code across projects. It adds new features to code automatically, such as recovering from a lost node or the ability to modify the code while running. In this project, the innovators at the time of this reporting intend to develop two distinct technologies that build upon each other and both of which serve as building blocks for more efficient HPC usage. First is the scheduling and dynamic execution framework, and the second is scalable linear algebra libraries that are built directly on the former.

Humphrey, John↗
NASA NTRS1987

VLSI-Chip Tester

Compact test set integrated in computer-aided design system. Test set performs functional tests on very-large-scale integrated (VLSI) circuits. Makes tests from points within VLSI chip as well as at input and output pins. Used for quality control and design; in latter capacity, checks internal logic functions on chip and feed results directly to computer-aided design system for correction. Also simulates operation of chip design before chip is made. VLSI Tester contains three power supplies, control logic, and standard multibus circuit board in aluminum chassis. Chassis fits under platform of microprobe station. Multibus board links tester to interactive terminals and to host computer.

Deutsch, Leslie J.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Speed in Information Processing with a Computer Driven Visual Display in a Real-time Digital Simulation

Information transfer between the operator and computer-generated display systems is an area where the human factors engineer discovers little useful design data relating human performance to system effectiveness. This study utilized a computer-driven, cathode-ray-tube graphic display to quantify human response speed in a sequential information processing task. The performance criteria was response time to sixteen cell elements of a square matrix display. A stimulus signal instruction specified selected cell locations by both row and column identification. An equal probable number code, from one to four, was assigned at random to the sixteen cells of the matrix and correspondingly required one of four, matched keyed-response alternatives. The display format corresponded to a sequence of diagnostic system maintenance events, that enable the operator to verify prime system status, engage backup redundancy for failed subsystem components, and exercise alternate decision-making judgements. The experimental task bypassed the skilled decision-making element and computer processing time, in order to determine a lower bound on the basic response speed for given stimulus/response hardware arrangement.

Kyle, R. G.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Performance results for a hybrid coding system.

Results of computer simulation studies of the hybrid pull-up bootstrap decoding algorithm, using a constraint length 24, nonsystematic, rate 1/2 convolutional code for the symmetric channel with both binary and eight-level quantized outputs. Computational performance was used to measure the effect of several decoder parameters and determine practical operating constraints. Results reveal that the track length may be reduced to 500 information bits with small degradation in performance. The optimum number of tracks per block was found to be in the range from 7 to 11. An effective technique was devised to efficiently allocate computational effort and identify reliably decoded data sections. Long simulations indicate that a practical bootstrap decoding configuration has a computational performance about 1.0 dB better than sequential decoding and an output bit error rate about .0000025 near the R sub comp point.

Hoffman, L. B.↗
NASA NTRS2009

A Software Rejuvenation Framework for Distributed Computing

A performability-oriented conceptual framework for software rejuvenation has been constructed as a means of increasing levels of reliability and performance in distributed stateful computing. As used here, performability-oriented signifies that the construction of the framework is guided by the concept of analyzing the ability of a given computing system to deliver services with gracefully degradable performance. The framework is especially intended to support applications that involve stateful replicas of server computers.

Chau, Savio↗
DOE OSTI2026

AthenaK: A Performance-portable Version of the Athena++ Adaptive Mesh Refinement Framework

We describe AthenaK: a new implementation of the Athena++ block-based adaptive mesh refinement framework using the Kokkos programming model. Finite volume methods for Newtonian, special relativistic, and general relativistic (GR) hydrodynamics and magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), and GR-radiation hydrodynamics and MHD, as well as a module for evolving Lagrangian tracer or charged test particles (e.g., cosmic rays) are implemented using the framework. In two companion papers, we describe (1) a new solver for the Einstein equations based on the Z4c formalism, and (2) a GRMHD solver in dynamical spacetimes also implemented using the framework, enabling new applications in numerical relativity. By adopting Kokkos, the code can be run on virtually any hardware, including CPUs, GPUs from multiple vendors, and emerging Advanced RISC Machine processors. AthenaK shows excellent performance and weak scaling, achieving over 1 billion cell updates per second for hydrodynamics in three dimensions on a single NVIDIA Grace Hopper processor. It does this with a typical parallel efficiency of 80% on 65,536 AMD GPUs on the OLCF Frontier system. Such performance portability enables AthenaK to leverage modern exascale computing systems for challenging applications in astrophysical fluid dynamics, numerical relativity, and multimessenger astrophysics.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1985

A system to demonstrate an integration approach for the communications link modeling programs of CLASS

The Communications Link Analysis and Simulation System (CLASS), which has been developed in order to model the performance of a communications satellite system, encompasses 20 programs which compute either some set of performance-related measures or the effect on performance of one of the types of link interference. An additional part of CLASS involves data bases for parameters that describe link components. Attention is given to a demonstration system fulfilling some of the requirements for an integrated system.

Mckenzie, T.↗
NASA NTRS2025

Informatics and Decision Support Technology Roadmap

The purpose is to identify shortfalls/gaps, shortfall/gap closure strategies, and candidate investments to mature Informatics and Decision Support technologies in support of M2M Program risk mitigation activities, enable and enhance crew insight to system performance, decision making, and computer-human interaction. In this first publication, scope of the Informatics and Decision Support Roadmap is limited to Deep Space Crew Displays and Audio Systems. Future publications will expand scope to other capabilities.

Geraldo Cisneros↗
NASA NTRS1992

Concurrent file operations in a high performance FORTRAN

Distributed memory multiprocessor systems can provide the computing power necessary for large scale scientific applications. A critical performance issue for a number of these applications is the efficient transfer of data to secondary storage. Recently several research groups have proposed FORTRAN language extensions for exploiting the data parallelism of such scientific codes on distributed memory architectures. However, few of these high performance FORTRAN's provide appropriate constructs for controlling the use of the parallel I/O capabilities of modern multiprocessing machines. In this paper, we propose constructs to specify I/O operations for distributed data structures in the context of Vienna Fortran. These operations can be used by the programmer to provide information which can help the compiler and runtime environment make the most efficient use of the I/O subsystem.

Brezany, Peter↗
NASA NTRS2010

PIV Measurements of the CEV Hot Abort Motor Plume for CFD Validation

NASA s next manned launch platform for missions to the moon and Mars are the Orion and Ares systems. Many critical aspects of the launch system performance are being verified using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) predictions. The Orion Launch Abort Vehicle (LAV) consists of a tower mounted tractor rocket tasked with carrying the Crew Module (CM) safely away from the launch vehicle in the event of a catastrophic failure during the vehicle s ascent. Some of the predictions involving the launch abort system flow fields produced conflicting results, which required further investigation through ground test experiments. Ground tests were performed to acquire data from a hot supersonic jet in cross-flow for the purpose of validating CFD turbulence modeling relevant to the Orion Launch Abort Vehicle (LAV). Both 2-component axial plane Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and 3-component cross-stream Stereo Particle Image Velocimetry (SPIV) measurements were obtained on a model of an Abort Motor (AM). Actual flight conditions could not be simulated on the ground, so the highest temperature and pressure conditions that could be safely used in the test facility (nozzle pressure ratio 28.5 and a nozzle temperature ratio of 3) were used for the validation tests. These conditions are significantly different from those of the flight vehicle, but were sufficiently high enough to begin addressing turbulence modeling issues that predicated the need for the validation tests.

Wernet, Mark↗