Parallelizing the execution of sequential scripts

Zhao Zhang, Daniel S. Katz, Timothy G. Armstrong, Justin M. Wozniak, Ian Foster

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

Scripting is often used in science to create applications via the composition of existing programs. Parallel scripting systems allow the creation of such applications, but each system introduces the need to adopt a somewhat specialized programming model. We present an alternative scripting approach, AMFS Shell, that lets programmers express parallel scripting applications via minor extensions to existing sequential scripting languages, such as Bash, and then execute them in-memory on large-scale computers. We deffine a small set of commands between the scripts and a parallel scripting runtime system, so that programmers can compose their scripts in a familiar scripting language. The underlying AMFS implements both collective (fast file movement) and functional (transformation based on content) file management. Tasks are handled by AMFS's built-in execution engine. AMFS Shell is expressive enough for a wide range of applications, and the framework can run such applications efficiently on large-scale computers.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationProceedings of SC 2013
Subtitle of host publicationThe International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage and Analysis
PublisherIEEE Computer Society
ISBN (Print)9781450323789
DOIs
StatePublished - 2013
Externally publishedYes
Event2013 International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage and Analysis, SC 2013 - Denver, CO, United States
Duration: Nov 17 2013Nov 22 2013

Publication series

NameInternational Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage and Analysis, SC
ISSN (Print)2167-4329
ISSN (Electronic)2167-4337

Other

Other2013 International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage and Analysis, SC 2013
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityDenver, CO
Period11/17/1311/22/13

Keywords

  • Many-task computing
  • Parallel scripting
  • Shared file system

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Computer Networks and Communications
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Hardware and Architecture
  • Software

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Parallelizing the execution of sequential scripts'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this