I guess, on a multicore machine, openmp/pthread code will always run faster than MPI code on the same box, even if the MPI implementation is efficient and uses a shared memory tool whereby the data is actually shared across the different process, though it's in a different way than it is shared across the threads in the same process.

I'd be curious to see some timing comparisons.

MM

From: users-bounces@open-mpi.org [mailto:users-bounces@open-mpi.org] On Behalf Of amjad ali
Sent: 10 December 2011 20:22
To: Open MPI Users
Subject: [OMPI users] How to justify the use MPI codes on multicore systems/PCs?

Hello All,

I developed my MPI based parallel code for clusters, but now I use it on multicore/manycore computers (PCs) as well. How to justify (in some thesis/publication) the use of a distributed memory code (in MPI) on a shared memory (multicore) machine. I guess to explain two reasons:

(1) Plan is to use several hunderds processes in future. So MPI like stuff is necessary. To maintain code uniformity and save cost/time for developing shared memory solution (using OpenMP, pthreads etc), I use the same MPI code on shared memory systems (like multicore PCs). MPI based codes give reasonable performance on multicore PCs, if not the best.

(2) The latest MPI implementations are intelligent enough that they use some efficient mechanism while executing MPI based codes on shared memory (multicore) machines.  (please tell me any reference to quote this fact).

Please help me in formally justifying this and comment/modify above two justifications. Better if I you can suggent me to quote some reference of any suitable publication in this regard.

best regards,

Amjad Ali