AIMS - An Automated Instrumentation and Monitoring System

Abstract

AIMS is a software toolkit that facilitates performance evaluation of parallel applications on multiprocessors. It includes 1. xinstrument: a source-code instrumentor that supports Fortran77 and C message-passing programs written under two communication libraries: MPI and PVM. 2. monitor: a library of timestamping and trace-collection routines that run on the IBM SP-2, as well as networks of workstations (including Convex/HP Cluster, SparcStations, SGIs, and SGI/PowerChallenge connected by a LAN). 3. pc: a utility for removing monitoring overhead and its effects on the communication patterns as recorded on the tracefile. 4. Visualization/Analysis Toolkit: a tracefile animation and analysis toolkit: The tracefile contains event records of the program execution. After execution, it is collected and transferred to a graphics workstation where it can be analyzed and displayed by AIMS' visualization toolkits. AIMS provides four trace post-processing kernels to support, respectively, visualization/animation, text-based profiling, hierarchical performance tuning, and performance prediction. 5. atopg: a suite of compatibility tools that convert AIMS-generated traces into formats used by other performance-visualization tools, such as Pablo, ParaGraph, and certain AVS/Explorer modules. AIMS can be used to illustrate algorithm behavior, help analyze program execution and highlight problem areas that can then be modified to improve program execution.

DateOfInformation

Fri Jun 5 16:45:10 1998

Domain

Parallel Processing Tools!Execution and Performance Analyzers (including debuggers)

Keyword

performance analysis; performance visualization

Name

AIMS - An Automated Instrumentation and Monitoring System

TargetEnvironment

Currently, AIMS accepts FORTRAN and C parallel programs written using two message passing libraries: MPI and PVM. The platforms currently supported include the IBM SP2 and clusters of workstations such as sunSparcs, SGI, SGI/PowerChallenge and HP). Earlier versions supporting CMMD on TMC's CM-5, NX on Intel's Paragon are no longer supported but the source code can be made available through special arrangement. A version of AIMS supporting HPF is being developed in conjunction with Portland Group. AIMS is also being ported to the SGI ORIGIN/2000. Ports to CRAY T3E, PC/Linux, Macintosh/MachTen are being considered.

Version

3.7

Webpage

http://science.nas.nasa.gov/Groups/Tools/Projects/AIMS/

ContactIs

Jerry Yan

Review Information

PTLIB Review of AIMS

Files

AIMS 3.7 source code
AIMS 3.7 man pages