Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “parallel file systems”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 91 records · Page 5

Efficient Mosaicking of Spitzer Space Telescope Images

A parallel version of the MOPEX software, which generates mosaics of infrared astronomical images acquired by the Spitzer Space Telescope, extends the capabilities of the prior serial version. In the parallel version, both the input image space and the output mosaic space are divided among the available parallel processors. This is the only software that performs the point-source detection and the rejection of spurious imaging effects of cosmic rays required by Spitzer scientists. This software includes components that implement outlier-detection algorithms that can be fine-tuned for a particular set of image data by use of a number of adjustable parameters. This software has been used to construct a mosaic of the Spitzer Infrared Array Camera Shallow Survey, which comprises more than 17,000 exposures in four wavelength bands from 3.6 to 8 m and spans a solid angle of about 9 square degrees. When this software was executed on 32 nodes of the 1,024-processor Cosmos cluster computer at NASA s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a speedup of 8.3 was achieved over the serial version of MOPEX. The performance is expected to improve dramatically once a true parallel file system is installed on Cosmos.

Jacob, Joseph↗

Lunar Terrain Coverage Analysis Data Delivery Workflow

In this work, we are developing a lunar terrain database to enable fast rendering of sun illumination and earth visibility for a proposed coverage analysis tool. This development will advance lunar mission design and formulation for current and future communications architectures, and will aid in lunar surface mission planning and communications/navigation operations. Our effort can be described in three steps: (1) we parallelize a brute force algorithm, which computes elevation masks from laser altimetry data acquired by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter’s (LRO) Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA); (2) we investigate parallel I/O methods to store terrain mask information from step (1) into a parallel file system; and (3) we finally deliver data to the terrain coverage analysis tool.

Michels, Dominik↗

A Methodology for the Rapid Development of Scalable HPC Data Services

There is growing evidence in the scientifc computing community that parallel file systems are not sufficient for all HPC storage workloads. This realization has motivated extensive research in new storage system designs. The question of which alternative we should turn towards implies that there could be a single answer satisfying a wide range of very diverse applications. We argue that such a generic solution does not exist. Instead, custom data services should be designed and tailored to the needs of specific applications on specific hardware. Furthermore, custom data services should be designed in close collaboration with users. In this paper, we present a methodology for the rapid development of such data services. This methodology promotes the design of reusable building blocks that can be composed together efficiently through a runtime based on high-performance threading, tasking, and remote procedure calls. We illustrate the success of our methodology by showcasing three examples of data services designed from the same building blocks, yet targeting entirely different applications.

Dorier, Mattieu↗

File concepts for parallel I/O

The subject of input/output (I/O) was often been neglected in the design of parallel computer systems, although for many problems I/O rates will limit the speedup attainable. The I/O problem is addressed by considering the role of files in parallel systems. The notion of parallel files is introduced. Parallel files provide for concurrent access by multiple processes, and utilize parallelism in the I/O system to improve performance. Parallel files can also be used conventionally by sequential programs. A set of standard parallel file organizations is proposed, based on common data partitioning techniques. Implementation strategies for the proposed organizations are suggested, using multiple storage devices. Problem areas are also identified and discussed.

Crockett, Thomas W.↗

Optimizing Input/Output Using Adaptive File System Policies

Parallel input/output characterization studies and experiments with flexible resource management algorithms indicate that adaptivity is crucial to file system performance. In this paper we propose an automatic technique for selecting and refining file system policies based on application access patterns and execution environment. An automatic classification framework allows the file system to select appropriate caching and pre-fetching policies, while performance sensors provide feedback used to tune policy parameters for specific system environments. To illustrate the potential performance improvements possible using adaptive file system policies, we present results from experiments involving classification-based and performance-based steering.

Madhyastha, Tara M.↗

Pattern-aware prefetching using parallel log-structured file system

Techniques are provided for pattern-aware prefetching using a parallel log-structured file system. At least a portion of one or more files is accessed by detecting at least one pattern in a non-sequential access of the one or more files; and obtaining at least a portion of the one or more files based on the detected at least one pattern. The obtaining step comprises, for example, a prefetching or pre-allocation of the at least the portion of the one or more files. A prefetch cache can store the portion of the one or more obtained files. The cached portion of the one or more files can be provided from the prefetch cache to an application requesting the at least a portion of the one or more files.

Bent, John M.↗

Low-level interfaces for high-level parallel I/O

As the I/O needs of parallel scientific applications increase, file systems for multiprocessors are being designed to provide applications with parallel access to multiple disks. Many parallel file systems present applications with a conventional Unix-like interface that allows the application to access multiple disks transparently. By tracing all the activity of a parallel file system in a production, scientific computing environment, we show that many applications exhibit highly regular, but nonconsecutive I/O access patterns. Since the conventional interface does not provide an efficient method of describing these patterns, we present three extensions to the interface that support strided, nested-strided, and nested-batched I/O requests. We show how these extensions can be used to express common access patterns.

Nieuwejaar, Nils↗

Storage of sparse files using parallel log-structured file system

A sparse file is stored without holes by storing a data portion of the sparse file using a parallel log-structured file system; and generating an index entry for the data portion, the index entry comprising a logical offset, physical offset and length of the data portion. The holes can be restored to the sparse file upon a reading of the sparse file. The data portion can be stored at a logical end of the sparse file. Additional storage efficiency can optionally be achieved by (i) detecting a write pattern for a plurality of the data portions and generating a single patterned index entry for the plurality of the patterned data portions; and/or (ii) storing the patterned index entries for a plurality of the sparse files in a single directory, wherein each entry in the single directory comprises an identifier of a corresponding sparse file.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Global distributed file append using log-structured file system

Techniques are provided for globally appending data from a group of distributed processes to a shared file using a log-structured file system. Data generated by a plurality of processes in a parallel computing system are appended to a shared file by storing the data to the shared file using a log-structured file system (such as a Parallel Log-Structured File System (PLFS)); and generating an index entry for the data, the index entry comprising a logical offset entry and a timestamp entry indicating a time of the storage, wherein the logical offset entry is resolved at read time. The logical offset entry can be populated with an append placeholder that is resolved when the shared file is read. At read time, a plurality of the index entries associated with the shared file can be sorted using the timestamp entry to deliver the requested shared file to a requesting application.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Metadata compression

A computer-executable method, system, and computer program product for managing a Parallel-Logged File System (PLFS) on a data storage system, wherein the data storage system is in communication with an application that updates the data storage system with checkpoint data, the computer-executable method, system, and computer program product comprising receiving a first checkpoint including data from the application; analyzing the data in the first checkpoint to determine whether a pattern exists in the checkpoint data; and upon a positive determination, adding the pattern into PLFS.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

High Performance Input/Output for Parallel Computer Systems

The goal of our project is to study the I/O characteristics of parallel applications used in Earth Science data processing systems such as Regional Data Centers (RDCs) or EOSDIS. Our approach is to study the runtime behavior of typical programs and the effect of key parameters of the I/O subsystem both under simulation and with direct experimentation on parallel systems. Our three year activity has focused on two items: developing a test bed that facilitates experimentation with parallel I/O, and studying representative programs from the Earth science data processing application domain. The Parallel Virtual File System (PVFS) has been developed for use on a number of platforms including the Tiger Parallel Architecture Workbench (TPAW) simulator, The Intel Paragon, a cluster of DEC Alpha workstations, and the Beowulf system (at CESDIS). PVFS provides considerable flexibility in configuring I/O in a UNIX- like environment. Access to key performance parameters facilitates experimentation. We have studied several key applications fiom levels 1,2 and 3 of the typical RDC processing scenario including instrument calibration and navigation, image classification, and numerical modeling codes. We have also considered large-scale scientific database codes used to organize image data.

Ligon, W. B.↗

I/O load balancing for big data HPC applications

High Performance Computing (HPC) big data problems require efficient distributed storage systems. However, at scale, such storage systems often experience load imbalance and resource contention due to two factors: the bursty nature of scientific application I/O; and the complex I/O path that is without centralized arbitration and control. For example, the extant Lustre parallel file system-that supports many HPC centers-comprises numerous components connected via custom network topologies, and serves varying demands of a large number of users and applications. Consequently, some storage servers can be more loaded than others, which creates bottlenecks and reduces overall application I/O performance. Existing solutions typically focus on per application load balancing, and thus are not as effective given their lack of a global view of the system. In this paper, we propose a data-driven approach to load balance the I/O servers at scale, targeted at Lustre deployments. To this end, we design a global mapper on Lustre Metadata Server, which gathers runtime statistics from key storage components on the I/O path, and applies Markov chain modeling and a minimum-cost maximum-flow algorithm to decide where data should be placed. Evaluation using a realistic system simulator and a real setup shows that our approach yields better load balancing, which in turn can improve end-to-end performance.

Paul, Arnab K.↗

Uncovering I/O demands on HPC platforms: Peeking under the hood of Santos Dumont

High-Performance Computing (HPC) platforms are required to solve the most diverse large-scale scientific problems in various research areas, such as biology, chemistry, physics, and health sciences. Researchers use a multitude of scientific softwares, which have different requirements. These include input and output operations, which directly impact performance due to the existing difference in processing and data access speeds. Thus, supercomputers must efficiently handle mixed workload when storing data from the applications. Understanding the set of applications and their performance running in a supercomputer is paramount to understanding the storage system's usage, pinpointing possible bottlenecks, and guiding optimization techniques. This research proposes a methodology and visualization tool to evaluate a supercomputer's data storage infrastructure's performance, taking into account the diverse workload and demands of the system over a long period of operation. As a study case, we focus on the Santos Dumont supercomputer, identifying inefficient usage, problematic performance factors, and providing guidelines on how to tackle those issues.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Disk Failure Dataset from the Campaign Storage System

This dataset consists of 1,389 disk (HDD) failure events collected from the Campaign storage system at LANL. The Campaign system supported various compute platforms throughout its lifespan, including Cielo, Fire, Ice, and notably, the Trinity supercomputer. Each recorded event includes its detection timestamp (in ISO 8601 format) and details such as its location within the storage system—rack, enclosure, and drive slot number. The data, spanning from May 4, 2021, to July 25, 2023 (2 years, 2 months, and 22 days), represents failure events from the terminal years of Campaign's operational period, accounting for 26% of its total operational time.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Improving the Effectiveness of Burst Buffers for Big Data Processing in HPC Systems with Eley

Here, burst buffer is an effective solution for reducing the data transfer time and the I/O interference in HPC systems. Extending Burst Buffers (BBs) to handle Big Data applications is challenging because BBs must account for the large data inputs of Big Data applications and the Quality-of-Service (QoS) of HPC applications which are considered as first-class citizens in HPC systems. Existing BBs focus on only intermediate data of Big Data applications and incur a high performance degradation of both Big Data and HPC applications. We present Eley , a burst buffer solution that helps to accelerate the performance of Big Data applications while guaranteeing the QoS of HPC applications. To achieve this goal, Eley embraces interference-aware prefetching technique that makes reading data input faster while introducing low interference for HPC applications. Evaluations using a wide range of Big Data and HPC applications demonstrate that Eley improves the performance of Big Data applications by up to 30% compared to existing BBs while maintaining the QoS of HPC applications.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Cross-Cutting Flight Infrastructure Improvements on M2020

Mars2020 (M2020) was formulated as a mission that leveraged as much Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) heritage as possible, while focusing major new development efforts on the original and unique elements needed to accomplish the different mission objectives. Well publicized examples of high profile new developments include precision landing, the sampling and caching system, the specific instrument suite, improved mobility via Autonomous Navigation, and later the addition of the Ingenuity helicopter. Less well known are the refinements to the core flight infrastructure, primarily in the cross-cutting functions of Telecom, Avionics, Data Management, Communications Behaviors, and Parameter Management. These enhancements are introduced predominately via flight software, and represent increases in capability that justified their inclusion in an otherwise heritage-focused project environment.Perseverance’s cross-cutting flight infrastructure improvements fall into and across the following five categories. First is a trimming of the software footprint of infrastructure modules, in order to make room for memory demands elsewhere in the system. Second is the minimization of data volume to be downlinked, through various methods such as the incorporation of new compression options. Third is the maximization of the available downlink bandwidth for data, by curtailing content-less data (fill) and introducing an improved UHF proximity link protocol. Fourth is a reduction in vulnerabilities, through increased file system redundancy, robustness, and software process monitoring. Fifth is an increase in operations efficiency by lowering file system mount times, improving parallelism between simultaneous events, minimizing the time to recover from file system errors, streamlining the purging of obsolete data, and reducing the number of commands to service parameters by a factor of 100.Individually, none of the cross-cutting infrastructure improvements are likely to garner headlines, but collectively they appreciably improve the safety and operability of Perseverance over its predecessor. This paper will describe the improvements, their promise, and where applicable, their actual impact in operations.

Bohannon, Emily↗

Addressing the Tension Between Strong Perimeter Control an Usability

This paper describes a strong perimeter control system for a general purpose processing system, with the perimeter control system taking significant steps to address usability issues, thus mitigating the tension between strong perimeter protection and usability. A secure front end enforces two-factor authentication for all interactive access to an enclave that contains a large supercomputer and various associated systems, with each requiring their own authentication. Usability is addressed through a design in which the user has to perform two-factor authentication at the secure front end in order to gain access to the enclave, while an agent transparently performs public key authentication as needed to authenticate to specific systems within the enclave. The paper then describes a proxy system that allows users to transfer files into the enclave under script control, when the user is not present to perform two-factor authentication. This uses a pre-authorization approach based on public key technology, which is still strongly tied to both two-factor authentication and strict control over where files can be transferred on the target system. Finally the paper describes an approach to support network applications and systems such as grids or parallel file transfer protocols that require the use of many ports through the perimeter. The paper describes a least privilege approach that dynamically opens ports on a host-specific, if-authorized, as-needed, just-in-time basis.

Hinke, Thomas H.↗