Using a Hypercube Algorithm for Broadcasting in Internet-Based Clusters
Silvia M. Figueira · Parallel and Distributed Processing Techniques and Applications · 2000
Internet-based clusters of workstations have been extensively used to execute parallel applications. Although these internet-based clusters seem to be an easy and inexpensive way of obtaining great performance, it may not always be so. When using such a cluster for executing a parallel application, performance may not be as good as expected due to delays in communication . Also, the heterogeneity in communication makes it hard to take advantage, or reuse, communication strategies that were useful in regular-topology platforms, e.g., parallel machines or LAN-based clusters of workstations. For instance, broadcasting in an internet-based cluster may be more challenging due to the variety of communication links and, consequently, of point-to-point latencies. In this paper, we present a strategy to improve hypercube-based broadcasting algorithms that are used in regular-topol ogy platforms, so that they can execute efficiently in internet-based clusters of workstations.