Data communications in a parallel active messaging interface of a parallel computer

• US 8,572,629 B2
• Filed: 12/09/2010
• Issued: 10/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Archer, Charles J., Blocksome, Michael A., Ratterman, Joseph D., Smith, Brian E.
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, VAN H
• Application Number:
  US12/963,694
• Publication Number:
  US 20120151485A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,055 Days
• Field of Search: 719/313, 719/314, 718/100
• US Class Current: 719/313
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/546 Message passing systems or structures, e.g. queues

Abstract

Data communications in a parallel active messaging interface (‘PAMI’) of a parallel computer, the parallel computer including a plurality of compute nodes that execute a parallel application, the PAMI composed of data communications endpoints, each endpoint including a specification of data communications parameters for a thread of execution on a compute node, including specifications of a client, a context, and a task, the compute nodes and the endpoints coupled for data communications through the PAMI and through data communications resources, including receiving in an origin endpoint of the PAMI a data communications instruction, the instruction characterized by an instruction type, the instruction specifying a transmission of transfer data from the origin endpoint to a target endpoint and transmitting, in accordance with the instruction type, the transfer data from the origin endpoint to the target endpoint.

Claims

1. A parallel computer that implements data communications in a parallel active messaging interface (‘

PAMI’

) of the parallel computer, the parallel computer comprising a plurality of compute nodes that execute a parallel application, the PAMI comprising data communications endpoints, each endpoint comprising a specification of data communications parameters for a thread of execution on a compute node, including specifications of a client, a context, and a task, the compute nodes and the endpoints coupled for data communications through the PAMI and through data communications resources, the compute nodes comprising computer processors operatively coupled to computer memory having disposed within it computer program instructions that, when executed by the computer processors, cause the parallel computer to function by;

receiving in an origin endpoint of the PAMI a data communications instruction, the instruction characterized by an instruction type, the instruction specifying a transmission of transfer data from the origin endpoint to a target endpoint; and

transmitting, in accordance with the instruction type, the transfer data from the origin endpoint to the target endpoint,

wherein;

each client comprises a collection of data communications resources dedicated to the exclusive use of an application-level data processing entity;

each context comprises a subset of the collection of data processing resources of a client, context functions, and a work queue of data transfer instructions to be performed by use of the subset through the context functions operated by an assigned thread of execution; and

each task represents a process of execution of the parallel application.

2. The parallel computer of claim 1 wherein receiving in an origin endpoint a data communications instruction comprises receiving the data communication instruction in a work queue of a context of the origin endpoint through a post function called by an application-level entity.

3. The parallel computer of claim 1 wherein transmitting the transfer data comprises transmitting the transfer data by an advance function of a context of the origin endpoint.

4. The parallel computer of claim 1 further comprising computer program instructions that cause the parallel computer to function by receiving, by an advance function of a context of the target endpoint, the transfer data in the target endpoint.

5. The parallel computer of claim 1 wherein each context carries out, through post and advance operations, data communications for the application on data communications resources in the exclusive possession of that context.

6. The parallel computer of claim 1 wherein each context carries out data communications operations independently and in parallel with other contexts.

7. A computer program product for data communications in a parallel active messaging interface (‘

PAMI’

) of a parallel computer, the parallel computer comprising a plurality of compute nodes that execute a parallel application, the PAMI comprising data communications endpoints, each endpoint comprising a specification of data communications parameters for a thread of execution on a compute node, including specifications of a client, a context, and a task, the compute nodes and the endpoints coupled for data communications through the PAMI and through data communications resources, the computer program product disposed upon a computer readable storage medium, wherein the computer readable storage medium is not a signal, the computer program product comprising computer program instructions that, when installed and executed, cause the parallel computer to function by;

receiving in an origin endpoint of the PAMI a data communications instruction, the instruction characterized by an instruction type, the instruction specifying a transmission of transfer data from the origin endpoint to a target endpoint; and

transmitting, in accordance with the instruction type, the transfer data from the origin endpoint to the target endpoint,

wherein;

each client comprises a collection of data communications resources dedicated to the exclusive use of an application-level data processing entity;

each context comprises a subset of the collection of data processing resources of a client, context functions, and a work queue of data transfer instructions to be performed by use of the subset through the context functions operated by an assigned thread of execution; and

each task represents a process of execution of the parallel application.

8. The computer program product of claim 7 wherein receiving in an origin endpoint a data communications instruction comprises receiving the data communication instruction in a work queue of a context of the origin endpoint through a post function called by an application-level entity.

9. The computer program product of claim 7 wherein transmitting the transfer data comprises transmitting the transfer data by an advance function of a context of the origin endpoint.

10. The computer program product of claim 7 further comprising computer program instructions that, when installed and executed, cause the parallel computer to function by receiving, by an advance function of a context of the target endpoint, the transfer data in the target endpoint.

11. The computer program product of claim 7 wherein each context carries out, through post and advance operations, data communications for the application on data communications resources in the exclusive possession of that context.