LogP: Towards a Realistic Model of Parallel Computation

David Culler, Richard Karp, David Patterson, Abhijit Sahay, Klaus Erik Schauser, Eunice Santos, Ramesh Subramonian, Thorsten von Eicken

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

A vast body of theoretical research has focused either on overly simplistic models of parallel computation, notably the PRAM, or overly specific models that have few representatives in the real world. Both kinds of models encourage exploitation of formal loopholes, rather than rewarding development of techniques that yield performance across a range of current and future parallel machines. This paper offers a new parallel machine model, called LogP, that reflects the critical technology trends underlying parallel computers. it is intended to serve as a basis for developing fast, portable parallel algorithms and to offer guidelines to machine designers. Such a model must strike a balance between detail and simplicity in order to reveal important bottlenecks without making analysis of interesting problems intractable. The model is based on four parameters that specify abstractly the computing bandwidth, the communication bandwidth, the communication delay, and the efficiency of coupling communication and computation. Portable parallel algorithms typically adapt to the machine configuration, in terms of these parameters. The utility of the model is demonstrated through examples that are implemented on the CM-5.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1-12
Number of pages12
JournalACM SIGPLAN Notices
Volume28
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 7 1993
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • complexity analysis
  • massively parallel processors
  • parallel algorithms
  • parallel models
  • PRAM

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Software
  • Computer Graphics and Computer-Aided Design

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