Towards an Accurate Performance Modeling of Parallel SparseFactorization

We present a performance model to analyze a parallel sparseLU factorization algorithm on modern cached-based, high-end parallelarchitectures. Our model characterizes the algorithmic behavior bytakingaccount the underlying processor speed, memory system performance, aswell as the interconnect speed. The model is validated using theSuperLU_DIST linear system solver, the sparse matrices from realapplications, and an IBM POWER3 parallel machine. Our modelingmethodology can be easily adapted to study performance of other types ofsparse factorizations, such as Cholesky or QR