Parallel Program Performance Metrics: A Comparison and Validation", Supercomputing

There are many metrics designed to assist in the performance debugging of large-scale parallel applica-tions. We describe a new technique, called True Zeroing, that permits direct quantitative comparison of the gui-dance supplied by these metrics on real applications. We apply this technique to three programs that include both numeric and symbolic applications. We compare three existing metrics: Gprof, Critical Path, and Quartz/NPT, and several new variations. Critical Path provided the best overall guidance, but it was not infallible. We also include a set of recommendations to tool builders based on the experience gained during our case study. 1