[boost] Fwd: [MPI] Test Processor Counts

Subject: [boost] Fwd: [MPI] Test Processor Counts
From: Belcourt, Kenneth (kbelco_at_[hidden])
Date: 2010-05-14 13:06:02

Sent to the users list by mistake.

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Belcourt, Kenneth" <kbelco_at_[hidden]>
> Date: May 14, 2010 11:03:23 AM MDT
> To: "boost-users_at_[hidden]" <boost-users_at_[hidden]>
> Subject: [MPI] Test Processor Counts
>
> Hi,
>
> While running the trunk tests, we've found that occasionally the
> system load average jumps up over 100 and occasionally hits 200.  As
> you can imagine for 8 to 32 core systems, this adversely impacts users
> on those systems.
>
> The issue is that I'm running the trunk tests in parallel, usually -j8
> to -j32 and when the MPI tests run, we run into the high load
> problem.  Some of the MPI tests run up to 17 processors so the
> combination of parallel testing and large processor count tests cause
> this issue.  Now the high load average may last for only 5 to 15
> minutes or so but this is enough to trigger a sysadmin question asking
> what I'm up.
>
> I'm looking for a solution that wouldn't require significantly
> reducing testing throughput.  Possible solutions might include
> serializing the execution of the MPI tests using something like the
> link-semaphore in Boost.Build, reducing the processor counts of the
> MPI tests, only running the larger tests on unchecked or unknown MPI
> implementations, setting up an MPI machine file to run the MPI tests
> off of the local system that built the executable, etc...
>
> Any other ideas on how to manage this?
>
> Thanks.
>
> -- Noel
>