Enabling Extremely Fine-grained Task Parallelism on Simultaneous Multithreading CPU Cores

Centrala begrepp

Specialized software-only framework Relic enables significant performance improvements over state-of-the-art parallel programming frameworks for fine-grained tasks on simultaneous multithreading CPU cores.

Sammanfattning

The paper explores the performance of fine-grained task parallelism on simultaneous multithreading (SMT) CPU cores. It first conducts a performance analysis of seven state-of-the-art shared-memory parallel programming frameworks, including OpenMP, Intel oneAPI Thread Building Blocks, OpenCilk, and Taskflow, using real-world fine-grained application kernels such as graph algorithms and JSON parsing. The results show performance degradations on several fine-grained tasks with the existing frameworks.
To address this, the paper introduces Relic, a specialized parallel programming framework designed to enable extremely fine-grained task parallelism on SMT cores. Relic utilizes a simple single-producer single-consumer task scheduling mechanism and optimized waiting/suspension mechanisms to reduce task handling overheads. Evaluation results demonstrate that Relic achieves significant performance improvements over the state-of-the-art frameworks, with speedups ranging from 19.1% to 33.2% across the investigated benchmarks.
The key insights are:

Existing general-purpose parallel frameworks struggle to efficiently parallelize fine-grained tasks on SMT cores.
Relic, a specialized framework, can enable much higher performance for fine-grained parallelism on SMT cores through simplicity and targeted optimizations.
Software-only techniques can be effective in improving fine-grained task parallelism on SMT cores without requiring hardware changes.

Statistik

Relic framework increases performance speedups over serial implementations by:

19.1% compared to LLVM OpenMP
31.0% compared to GNU OpenMP
20.2% compared to Intel OpenMP
33.2% compared to X-OpenMP
30.1% compared to oneTBB
23.0% compared to Taskflow
21.4% compared to OpenCilk

Citat

"Relic parallel programming framework increases achievable performance speedups by 30.4%, 30.1%, 14.3%, 21.3%, and 8.6% for the BC, CC, PR, SSSP, and JSON parsing benchmarks, respectively, compared to the best results from the evaluated state-of-the-art frameworks."

Viktiga insikter från

Exploring Fine-grained Task Parallelism on Simultaneous Multithreading Cores

by Denis Los, I... på arxiv.org 10-03-2024

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2410.01222.pdf

Djupare frågor

How can the techniques used in Relic be extended to enable fine-grained parallelism on heterogeneous CPU-GPU systems?

The techniques employed in the Relic framework, which focus on fine-grained task parallelism on simultaneous multithreading (SMT) CPU cores, can be adapted for heterogeneous CPU-GPU systems by leveraging the distinct capabilities of both processing units. One approach is to implement a hybrid task scheduling mechanism that allows the main thread on the CPU to submit tasks not only to the assistant thread but also to the GPU. This can be achieved by creating a task queue that can handle both CPU and GPU tasks, allowing for dynamic distribution based on the workload characteristics.
To facilitate this, the Relic framework could incorporate a task dispatcher that intelligently decides whether a task should be executed on the CPU or offloaded to the GPU based on factors such as task granularity, data dependencies, and resource availability. Additionally, the use of a unified memory model could simplify data sharing between CPU and GPU, reducing the overhead associated with data transfers. By implementing a similar single-producer single-consumer (SPSC) pattern for GPU tasks, the framework can maintain low scheduling overhead while maximizing resource utilization across both CPU and GPU.
Furthermore, the waiting mechanisms in Relic could be adapted to account for the asynchronous nature of GPU execution. This would involve implementing callback functions or event-driven notifications to signal the completion of GPU tasks, allowing the CPU to continue processing other tasks without being blocked. Overall, extending Relic's techniques to heterogeneous systems would require careful consideration of task management, data transfer, and synchronization to fully exploit the parallelism offered by both CPUs and GPUs.

What are the potential challenges in integrating Relic with existing general-purpose parallel programming frameworks?

Integrating the Relic framework with existing general-purpose parallel programming frameworks presents several challenges. One significant challenge is the compatibility of task scheduling and execution models. General-purpose frameworks like OpenMP, Intel oneAPI Thread Building Blocks (oneTBB), and others often employ complex work-stealing algorithms and dynamic scheduling strategies that may not align well with Relic's simpler single-producer single-consumer model. This discrepancy could lead to inefficiencies or increased overhead when attempting to combine the two systems.
Another challenge lies in the management of shared resources and synchronization. Relic's design focuses on minimizing task handling overhead through a lock-free queue mechanism, which may conflict with the locking and synchronization primitives used in other frameworks. Ensuring thread safety and data consistency while maintaining performance could require significant modifications to either Relic or the existing frameworks.
Additionally, the integration process may necessitate changes in the programming model, as developers would need to adapt their code to utilize both Relic and the general-purpose framework effectively. This could involve learning new APIs and understanding the nuances of task submission and management across different systems, potentially increasing the complexity of application development.
Lastly, performance tuning and optimization would be critical in an integrated environment. Developers would need to profile and analyze the performance of applications to identify bottlenecks and ensure that the combined framework operates efficiently. This could require extensive testing and iteration to achieve optimal performance across various workloads.

Could the principles behind Relic be applied to improve the performance of other types of concurrent workloads beyond task parallelism, such as data-parallel computations or streaming applications?

Yes, the principles behind the Relic framework can be effectively applied to enhance the performance of other types of concurrent workloads, including data-parallel computations and streaming applications. The core concept of fine-grained task management, which focuses on minimizing scheduling overhead and maximizing resource utilization, is applicable across various parallel computing paradigms.
For data-parallel computations, the single-producer single-consumer model can be adapted to manage data chunks or segments that need to be processed in parallel. By allowing a main thread to submit data processing tasks to an assistant thread, the framework can efficiently handle fine-grained data operations, such as element-wise computations or reductions, while ensuring that the overhead associated with task management remains low. This approach can lead to improved throughput and reduced latency in data-parallel applications.
In the context of streaming applications, the principles of Relic can be utilized to manage the flow of data through a pipeline of processing stages. Each stage can be treated as a task that is submitted by the main thread and executed by the assistant thread. By implementing a similar task scheduling mechanism, the framework can ensure that data is processed as it arrives, allowing for real-time processing and responsiveness. Additionally, the waiting mechanisms can be adapted to handle backpressure scenarios, where the assistant thread can signal the main thread to pause data ingestion when it is overwhelmed, thus maintaining system stability.
Overall, the design philosophy of Relic, which emphasizes simplicity, efficiency, and low overhead, can be beneficial in optimizing a wide range of concurrent workloads beyond traditional task parallelism, making it a versatile tool for developers working in various domains of parallel computing.