Parallel Unix Commands: A High-Performance Implementation

Title: Parallel Unix Commands: A High-Performance Implementation

Main Research Question: How can we create a set of parallel commands that mimic the functionality of traditional Unix commands, while also providing high-performance scalability on parallel machines?

Methodology: The authors created a family of MPI applications called the Parallel Unix Commands. These commands are parallel versions of common Unix user commands like ls, ps, and find, along with a few similar commands tailored to the parallel environment. They described the design and implementation of these programs and provided performance results on a 256-node Linux cluster.

Results: The Parallel Unix Commands successfully mimic the functionality of traditional Unix commands and provide high-performance scalability. They interact well with other Unix tools and run at interactive speeds, as do traditional Unix commands.

Implications: The Parallel Unix Commands are open source and freely available, making them accessible to the research community. This could lead to further advancements in parallel computing and the development of more efficient and effective parallel tools. Additionally, the design principles used in creating the Parallel Unix Commands could serve as a model for creating other parallel tools and applications.

In conclusion, the Parallel Unix Commands provide a high-performance, scalable solution for running traditional Unix commands on parallel machines, while maintaining the familiarity and interactivity of their Unix counterparts.

Link to Article: https://arxiv.org/abs/0108019v1 Authors: arXiv ID: 0108019v1