Mapping and Optimizing 2-D Jacobi Iteration on a Stream Processor

Stream processors, with the stream programming model, have demonstrated significant performance advantages in the domains signal processing, multimedia and graphics applications. In this paper we examine the applicability of a stream processor to 2-D Jacobi iteration which is widely used to solve partial differential equations, an important class of scientific programs. We first map 2-D Jacobi iteration in FORTRAN version to the stream processor in a straightforward way. In a stream processor system, the management of system resources is the programmers' responsibility. We then present several optimizations, which avail the stream program for 2-D Jacobi iteration, called StreamJacobi, of various aspects of the stream processor architecture. Finally, we analyze the performance of StreamJacobi, with different scales, and the presented optimizations. The final stream program StreamJacobi is from 2.31 to 6.42 times faster than the corresponding FORTRAN programs on a Xeon 5100 processor, with the optimizations playing an important role in realizing the performance improvement.