Prophesy: An Infrastructure for Analyzing the Performance of
Parallel and Distributed Applications

Abstract

Efficient execution of applications requires insights into how system features impact the performance of the application. The availability of national, high-speed networks has made available distributed systems for execution of large-scale applications. Distributed systems, which are composed of systems at geographically different sites, are heterogeneous; such systems consists of heterogeneous networks, processors, run-time systems, operating systems, etc. This heterogeneity complicates the task of gaining insights into the performance of the application. This talk presents the Prophesy Project, an infrastructure that aids in gaining this needed insight based upon one's experience and that of others. Prophesy consists of three major components: a relational database that allows for the recording of performance data, system features and application details; an application analysis component that automatically instruments applications and generates control flow information; and a data analysis component that facilitates the development of performance models, predictions and trends. As a result, the Prophesy system can be used to develop models based upon significant data, identify the most efficient implementation of a given function based upon the given system configuration, explore the various trends implicated by the significant data, and predict the performance on a different system. This is a joint project with the MCS Division at Argonne National Laboratory.

Short Bio of the Speaker