PVMPI: An Integration of the PVM and MPI Systems

Graham E. Fagg - Jack J. Dongarra

Abstract:

We discuss the use of PVM as a system for controlling the execution of MPI applications, by allowing the user access to both the MPI API and an enhanced set of the PVM API. The intention is to give the user community flexible control over MPI applications using a system that is both portable and familiar--without having to wait for new MPI-2 systems to be developed. Our system, called PVMPI, uses the already proven and widely ported MPI message-passing system within PVM to to enable interoperation with different implementations executing on distributed hardware. PVMPI also takes advantage of contexts under PVM3.4 to provide more security. Additional benefits will be available to those who currently already use resource managers that interface to PVM, in that PVMPI can control MPI applications.

• Introduction
• The Dynamic World of PVM
  • Virtual Machine Definition
  • Process Control
  • Message Passing
  • Resource Management
  • PVM Group Services
• The Static World of MPI
  • MPI Process Control
  • Contexts, Process Groups, and Communicators
  • Static Separate Worlds
• Related Work
  • Unify
• Interoperation Requirements and Membership Rules
• Prototype Systems
  • Mapping Identifiers
  • Start-up Facilities and Process Management
    • SP2 Process Spawning
  • MPI-style Message Passing and Collective Operations
  • Improved Security and Performance with Attribute Locking
• Conclusions
• References
• About this document ...