Parallelizing Monte Carlo with PMC
James A. Rathkopf, Terry Jones, D. M. Nessett, L. Stanberry · University of North Texas Digital Library (University of North Texas) · 1994
PMC (Parallel Monte Carlo) is a system of generic interface routines that allows easy porting of Monte Carlo packages of large-scale physics simulation codes to Massively Parallel Processor (MPP) computers. By loading various versions of PMC, simulation code developers can configure their codes to run in several modes: serial, Monte Carlo runs on the same processor as the rest of the code; parallel, Monte Carlo runs in parallel across many processors of the MPP with the rest of the code running on other MPP processor(s); distributed, Monte Carlo runs in parallel across many processors of the MPP with the rest of the code running on a different machine. This multi-mode approach allows maintenance of a single simulation code source regardless of the target machine. PMC handles passing of messages between nodes on the MPP, passing of messages between a different machine and the MPP, distributing work between nodes, and providing independent, reproducible sequences of random numbers. Several production codes have been parallelized under the PMC system. Excellent parallel efficiency in both the distributed and parallel modes results if sufficient workload is available per processor. Experiences with a Monte Carlo photonics demonstration code and a Monte Carlo neutronics package are described.