Hello Eugene:
On Mon, Dec 08, 2008 at 11:14:10AM -0800, Eugene Loh wrote:
...<html snipped/edited>...
>> Proceeding from that, it seems that "mpi_recv" is implemented as
>> "poll forever until the message comes"
>> and NOT as
>> "sleep until the message comes"
>>
>> I had assumed, until now, that mpi_recv would be implemented as the
>> second.
> It isn't a binary situation. The first extreme you mention is "consume
> a lot of resources and spring into action as soon as there is work to
> do." The second extreme you mention is "don't use any extra resources,
> but take a loooong time to wake up once there is something to do".
> There are a bunch of alternatives in-between. E.g., "don't use as much
> resource and wake up kind of fast when there is something to do."<br>
> <br>
> OMPI's yield behavior is such an in-between alternative.<br>
Ah...I didn't realize there were more than two alternatives.
> I could imagine another alternative. Construct a wrapper function that
> intercepts MPI_Recv and turn it into something like<br>
> <br>
> PMPI_Irecv<br>
> while ( ! done ) {<br>
> nanosleep(short);<br>
> PMPI_Test(&done);<br>
> }<br>
> <br>
> I don't know how useful this would be for your particular case.<br>
> <br>
Thank you for the suggestion. I didn't know about "PMPI_Irecv" (my
question was what/where did the "P" prefix to MPI come from?) so I
went back to the MPI standard, and re-read the description of
"mpi_send" and "mpi_recv".
Based on my re-read of the MPI standard, it appears that I may have
slightly mis-stated my issue. The spin is probably taking place in
"mpi_send". "mpi_send", according to my understanding of the MPI
standard, may not exit until a matching "mpi_recv" has been initiated,
or completed. At least that is the conclusion I came to.
However my complaint - sorry, I wish I could think of a better word -
remains. It appears that openmpi spin-waits, as opposed to, say,
going to sleep and waiting for a wake-up call. Like a semaphore - if
those things still exist.
Regards,
Douglas.
--
Douglas Guptill
Research Assistant, LSC 4640 email: douglas.gupt...@dal.ca
Oceanography Department fax: 902-494-3877
Dalhousie University
Halifax, NS, B3H 4J1, Canada
