Visualization for Exascale: Portable Performance is Critical

Kenneth Moreland; Matthew Larsen; Hank Childs

doi:10.14529/jsfi150306

Authors

Kenneth Moreland Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque
Matthew Larsen University of Oregon, Eugene
Hank Childs University of Oregon, Eugene

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14529/jsfi150306

Abstract

Researchers face a daunting task to provide scientific visualization capabilities for exascale computing. Of the many fundamental changes we are seeing in HPC systems, one of the most profound is a reliance on new processor types optimized for execution bandwidth over latency hiding. Multiple vendors create such accelerator processors, each with significantly different features and performance characteristics. To address these visualization needs across multiple platforms, we are embracing the use of data parallel primitives that encapsulate highly efficient parallel algorithms that can be used as building blocks for conglomerate visualization algorithms. We can achieve performance portability by optimizing this small set of data parallel primitives whose tuning conveys to the conglomerates.

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