@Article{cormen:early-vic, author = {Thomas H. Cormen and Melissa Hirschl}, title = {Early Experiences in Evaluating the Parallel Disk Model with the {ViC*} Implementation}, journal = {Parallel Computing}, year = {1997}, month = {June}, volume = {23}, number = {4}, pages = {571--600}, publisher = {North-Holland (Elsevier Scientific)}, copyright = {North-Holland (Elsevier Scientific)}, earlier = {cormen:early-vic-tr}, keywords = {parallel I/O, parallel I/O algorithm, compiler, pario-bib}, abstract = {Although several algorithms have been developed for the Parallel Disk Model (PDM), few have been implemented. Consequently, little has been known about the accuracy of the PDM in measuring I/O time and total running time to perform an out-of-core computation. This paper analyzes timing results on multiple-disk platforms for two PDM algorithms, out-of-core radix sort and BMMC permutations, to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the PDM. \par The results indicate the following. First, good PDM algorithms are usually not I/O bound. Second, of the four PDM parameters, one (problem size) is a good indicator of I/O time and running time, one (memory size) is a good indicator of I/O time but not necessarily running time, and the other two (block size and number of disks) do not necessarily indicate either I/O or running time. Third, because PDM algorithms tend not to be I/O bound, using asynchronous I/O can reduce I/O wait times significantly. \par The software interface to the PDM is part of the ViC* run-time library. The interface is a set of wrappers that are designed to be both efficient and portable across several underlying file systems and target machines.} }