A Methodology for Characterizing the Correspondence Between Real and Proxy Applications

Proxy applications are a simplified means for stake-holders to evaluate how both hardware and software stacks might perform on the class of real applications that they are meant to model. However, characterizing the relationship between them and their behavior is not an easy task. We present a data-driven methodology for characterizing the relationship between real and proxy applications based on collecting runtime data from both and then using data analytics to find their correspondence and divergence. We use new capabilities for application-level monitoring within LDMS (Lightweight Distributed Monitoring System) to capture hardware performance counter and MPI-related data. To demonstrate the utility of this methodology, we present experimental evidence from two system platforms, using four proxy applications from the current ECP Proxy Application Suite and their corresponding parent applications (in the ECP application portfolio). Results show that each proxy analyzed is representative of its parent with respect to computation and memory behavior. We also analyze communication patterns separately using mpiP data and show that communication for these four proxy/parent pairs is also similar.