Publications

Refine Results

(Filters Applied) Clear All

Benchmarking SciDB data import on HPC systems

Summary

SciDB is a scalable, computational database management system that uses an array model for data storage. The array data model of SciDB makes it ideally suited for storing and managing large amounts of imaging data. SciDB is designed to support advanced analytics in database, thus reducing the need for extracting data for analysis. It is designed to be massively parallel and can run on commodity hardware in a high performance computing (HPC) environment. In this paper, we present the performance of SciDB using simulated image data. The Dynamic Distributed Dimensional Data Model (D4M) software is used to implement the benchmark on a cluster running the MIT SuperCloud software stack. A peak performance of 2.2M database inserts per second was achieved on a single node of this system. We also show that SciDB and the D4M toolbox provide more efficient ways to access random sub-volumes of massive datasets compared to the traditional approaches of reading volumetric data from individual files. This work describes the D4M and SciDB tools we developed and presents the initial performance results. This performance was achieved by using parallel inserts, a in-database merging of arrays as well as supercomputing techniques, such as distributed arrays and single-program-multiple-data programming.
READ LESS

Summary

SciDB is a scalable, computational database management system that uses an array model for data storage. The array data model of SciDB makes it ideally suited for storing and managing large amounts of imaging data. SciDB is designed to support advanced analytics in database, thus reducing the need for extracting...

READ MORE

Julia implementation of the Dynamic Distributed Dimensional Data Model

Published in:
HPEC 2016: IEEE Conf. on High Performance Extreme Computing, 13-15 September 2016.

Summary

Julia is a new language for writing data analysis programs that are easy to implement and run at high performance. Similarly, the Dynamic Distributed Dimensional Data Model (D4M) aims to clarify data analysis operations while retaining strong performance. D4M accomplishes these goals through a composable, unified data model on associative arrays. In this work, we present an implementation of D4M in Julia and describe how it enables and facilitates data analysis. Several experiments showcase scalable performance in our new Julia version as compared to the original Matlab implementation.
READ LESS

Summary

Julia is a new language for writing data analysis programs that are easy to implement and run at high performance. Similarly, the Dynamic Distributed Dimensional Data Model (D4M) aims to clarify data analysis operations while retaining strong performance. D4M accomplishes these goals through a composable, unified data model on associative...

READ MORE

From NoSQL Accumulo to NewSQL Graphulo: design and utility of graph algorithms inside a BigTable database

Published in:
HPEC 2016: IEEE Conf. on High Performance Extreme Computing, 13-15 September 2016.

Summary

Google BigTable's scale-out design for distributed key-value storage inspired a generation of NoSQL databases. Recently the NewSQL paradigm emerged in response to analytic workloads that demand distributed computation local to data storage. Many such analytics take the form of graph algorithms, a trend that motivated the GraphBLAS initiative to standardize a set of matrix math kernels for building graph algorithms. In this article we show how it is possible to implement the GraphBLAS kernels in a BigTable database by presenting the design of Graphulo, a library for executing graph algorithms inside the Apache Accumulo database. We detail the Graphulo implementation of two graph algorithms and conduct experiments comparing their performance to two main-memory matrix math systems. Our results shed insight into the conditions that determine when executing a graph algorithm is faster inside a database versus an external system—in short, that memory requirements and relative I/O are critical factors.
READ LESS

Summary

Google BigTable's scale-out design for distributed key-value storage inspired a generation of NoSQL databases. Recently the NewSQL paradigm emerged in response to analytic workloads that demand distributed computation local to data storage. Many such analytics take the form of graph algorithms, a trend that motivated the GraphBLAS initiative to standardize...

READ MORE

LLMapReduce: multi-level map-reduce for high performance data analysis

Summary

The map-reduce parallel programming model has become extremely popular in the big data community. Many big data workloads can benefit from the enhanced performance offered by supercomputers. LLMapReduce provides the familiar map-reduce parallel programming model to big data users running on a supercomputer. LLMapReduce dramatically simplifies map-reduce programming by providing simple parallel programming capability in one line of code. LLMapReduce supports all programming languages and many schedulers. LLMapReduce can work with any application without the need to modify the application. Furthermore, LLMapReduce can overcome scaling limits in the map-reduce parallel programming model via options that allow the user to switch to the more efficient single-program-multiple-data (SPMD) parallel programming model. These features allow users to reduce the computational overhead by more than 10x compared to standard map-reduce for certain applications. LLMapReduce is widely used by hundreds of users at MIT. Currently LLMapReduce works with several schedulers such as SLURM, Grid Engine and LSF.
READ LESS

Summary

The map-reduce parallel programming model has become extremely popular in the big data community. Many big data workloads can benefit from the enhanced performance offered by supercomputers. LLMapReduce provides the familiar map-reduce parallel programming model to big data users running on a supercomputer. LLMapReduce dramatically simplifies map-reduce programming by providing...

READ MORE

Scalability of VM provisioning systems

Summary

Virtual machines and virtualized hardware have been around for over half a century. The commoditization of the x86 platform and its rapidly growing hardware capabilities have led to recent exponential growth in the use of virtualization both in the enterprise and high performance computing (HPC). The startup time of a virtualized environment is a key performance metric for high performance computing in which the runtime of any individual task is typically much shorter than the lifetime of a virtualized service in an enterprise context. In this paper, a methodology for accurately measuring the startup performance on an HPC system is described. The startup performance overhead of three of the most mature, widely deployed cloud management frameworks (OpenStack, OpenNebula, and Eucalyptus) is measured to determine their suitability for workloads typically seen in an HPC environment. A 10x performance difference is observed between the fastest (Eucalyptus) and the slowest (OpenNebula) framework. This time difference is primarily due to delays in waiting on networking in the cloud-init portion of the startup. The methodology and measurements presented should facilitate the optimization of startup across a variety of virtualization environments.
READ LESS

Summary

Virtual machines and virtualized hardware have been around for over half a century. The commoditization of the x86 platform and its rapidly growing hardware capabilities have led to recent exponential growth in the use of virtualization both in the enterprise and high performance computing (HPC). The startup time of a...

READ MORE

Sampling operations on big data

Published in:
2015 Asilomar Conf. on Signals, Systems and Computers, 8-11 November 2015.

Summary

The 3Vs -- Volume, Velocity and Variety -- of Big Data continues to be a large challenge for systems and algorithms designed to store, process and disseminate information for discovery and exploration under real-time constraints. Common signal processing operations such as sampling and filtering, which have been used for decades to compress signals are often undefined in data that is characterized by heterogeneity, high dimensionality, and lack of known structure. In this article, we describe and demonstrate an approach to sample large datasets such as social media data. We evaluate the effect of sampling on a common predictive analytic: link prediction. Our results indicate that greatly sampling a dataset can still yield meaningful link prediction results.
READ LESS

Summary

The 3Vs -- Volume, Velocity and Variety -- of Big Data continues to be a large challenge for systems and algorithms designed to store, process and disseminate information for discovery and exploration under real-time constraints. Common signal processing operations such as sampling and filtering, which have been used for decades...

READ MORE

Big data strategies for data center infrastructure management using a 3D gaming platform

Summary

High Performance Computing (HPC) is intrinsically linked to effective Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM). Cloud services and HPC have become key components in Department of Defense and corporate Information Technology competitive strategies in the global and commercial spaces. As a result, the reliance on consistent, reliable Data Center space is more critical than ever. The costs and complexity of providing quality DCIM are constantly being tested and evaluated by the United States Government and companies such as Google, Microsoft and Facebook. This paper will demonstrate a system where Big Data strategies and 3D gaming technology is leveraged to successfully monitor and analyze multiple HPC systems and a lights-out modular HP EcoPOD 240a Data Center on a singular platform. Big Data technology and a 3D gaming platform enables the relative real time monitoring of 5000 environmental sensors, more than 3500 IT data points and display visual analytics of the overall operating condition of the Data Center from a command center over 100 miles away. In addition, the Big Data model allows for in depth analysis of historical trends and conditions to optimize operations achieving even greater efficiencies and reliability.
READ LESS

Summary

High Performance Computing (HPC) is intrinsically linked to effective Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM). Cloud services and HPC have become key components in Department of Defense and corporate Information Technology competitive strategies in the global and commercial spaces. As a result, the reliance on consistent, reliable Data Center space is...

READ MORE

Enabling on-demand database computing with MIT SuperCloud database management system

Summary

The MIT SuperCloud database management system allows for rapid creation and flexible execution of a variety of the latest scientific databases, including Apache Accumulo and SciDB. It is designed to permit these databases to run on a High Performance Computing Cluster (HPCC) platform as seamlessly as any other HPCC job. It ensures the seamless migration of the databases to the resources assigned by the HPCC scheduler and centralized storage of the database files when not running. It also permits snapshotting of databases to allow researchers to experiment and push the limits of the technology without concerns for data or productivity loss if the database becomes unstable.
READ LESS

Summary

The MIT SuperCloud database management system allows for rapid creation and flexible execution of a variety of the latest scientific databases, including Apache Accumulo and SciDB. It is designed to permit these databases to run on a High Performance Computing Cluster (HPCC) platform as seamlessly as any other HPCC job...

READ MORE

Improving big data visual analytics with interactive virtual reality

Published in:
HPEC 2015: IEEE Conf. on High Performance Extreme Computing, 15-17 September 2015.

Summary

For decades, the growth and volume of digital data collection has made it challenging to digest large volumes of information and extract underlying structure. Coined 'Big Data', massive amounts of information has quite often been gathered inconsistently (e.g from many sources, of various forms, at different rates, etc.). These factors impede the practices of not only processing data, but also analyzing and displaying it in an efficient manner to the user. Many efforts have been completed in the data mining and visual analytics community to create effective ways to further improve analysis and achieve the knowledge desired for better understanding. Our approach for improved big data visual analytics is two-fold, focusing on both visualization and interaction. Given geo-tagged information, we are exploring the benefits of visualizing datasets in the original geospatial domain by utilizing a virtual reality platform. After running proven analytics on the data, we intend to represent the information in a more realistic 3D setting, where analysts can achieve an enhanced situational awareness and rely on familiar perceptions to draw in-depth conclusions on the dataset. In addition, developing a human-computer interface that responds to natural user actions and inputs creates a more intuitive environment. Tasks can be performed to manipulate the dataset and allow users to dive deeper upon request, adhering to desired demands and intentions. Due to the volume and popularity of social media, we developed a 3D tool visualizing Twitter on MIT's campus for analysis. Utilizing emerging technologies of today to create a fully immersive tool that promotes visualization and interaction can help ease the process of understanding and representing big data.
READ LESS

Summary

For decades, the growth and volume of digital data collection has made it challenging to digest large volumes of information and extract underlying structure. Coined 'Big Data', massive amounts of information has quite often been gathered inconsistently (e.g from many sources, of various forms, at different rates, etc.). These factors...

READ MORE

Parallel vectorized algebraic AES in MATLAB for rapid prototyping of encrypted sensor processing algorithms and database analytics

Published in:
HPEC 2015: IEEE Conf. on High Performance Extreme Computing, 15-17 September 2015.

Summary

The increasing use of networked sensor systems and networked databases has led to an increased interest in incorporating encryption directly into sensor algorithms and database analytics. MATLAB is the dominant tool for rapid prototyping of sensor algorithms and has extensive database analytics capabilities. The advent of high level and high performance Galois Field mathematical environments allows encryption algorithms to be expressed succinctly and efficiently. This work leverages the Galois Field primitives found the MATLAB Communication Toolbox to implement a mode of the Advanced Encrypted Standard (AES) based on first principals mathematics. The resulting implementation requires 100x less code than standard AES implementations and delivers speed that is effective for many design purposes. The parallel version achieves speed comparable to native OpenSSL on a single node and is sufficient for real-time prototyping of many sensor processing algorithms and database analytics.
READ LESS

Summary

The increasing use of networked sensor systems and networked databases has led to an increased interest in incorporating encryption directly into sensor algorithms and database analytics. MATLAB is the dominant tool for rapid prototyping of sensor algorithms and has extensive database analytics capabilities. The advent of high level and high...

READ MORE