SGI PerfBoost uses a wrapper library to run applications compiled against other MPI implementations under the SGI Message Passing Toolkit (MPT) product on SGI platforms. This chapter describes how to use PerfBoost software.
To use PerfBoost with an SGI MPT MPI program, first load the perfboost environmental module (see Example 6-1). Then insert the perfboost command in front of the executable name along with the choice of MPI implementation to emulate. Launch the application with the SGI MPT mpiexec_mpt(1) or mpirun(1) command. Here is a list of MPI implementations and corresponding command line options:
| MPI Implementation | Command Line Option | |
| ||
| Platform MPI 7.1+ | -pmpi | |
| HP-MPI | -pmpi | |
| Intel MPI | -impi | |
| OpenMPI | -ompi | |
| MPICH1 | -mpich | |
| MPICH2 | -impi | |
| MVAPICH2 | -impi |
Example 6-1. Using the SGI perfboost Software
Here are some examples using perfboost:
% module load mpt % module load perfboost % mpirun -np 32 perfboost -impi a.out arg1 % mpiexec_mpt perfboost -pmpi b.out arg1 % mpirun host1 32, host2 64 perfboost -impi c.out arg1 arg2 |
The MPI environment variables that are documented in the MPI(1) man page are available to PerfBoost.
MPI environment variables that are not used by SGI MPT are currently not supported.
| PERFBOOST_VERBOSE | Setting the PERFBOOST_VERBOSE environment variable will enable a message when PerfBoost activates and also when the MPI application is completed through the MPI_Finalize() function. This message merely indicates that the PerfBoost library is active and also when the MPI application completes through the libperfboost. wrapper library. |
 | Note: Some applications will re-direct stderr in which case the verbose messages may not appear in the application output. |
SGI PerfBoost supports the commonly used elements of the C & Fortran MPI APIs. If a function is not supported, the job will be aborted and an error printed showing the name of the missing function. Please contact SGI Customer Support Center at https://support.sgi.com/caselist to get a missing function scheduled for addition to PerfBoost.