On Scaling Neuronal Network Simulations Using Distributed Computing

We investigated the computational capabilities of FABRIC, a nationwide research infrastructure with nearly 40 sites, for scaling neuroscience simulations. From the hardware standpoint, single-site characterization showed that FABRIC is a promising alternative to conventional neuroscience setups, particularly due to the availability of powerful graphics processing units (GPUs). While multi-site simulations are affected by network latency, it becomes less critical for larger networks. From the software perspective, we found that in the popular CoreNEURON library, cell distribution strategy (for parallel execution) does not affect the simulation time for biologically realistic networks, while other cases can be addressed with a minimum k-cut graph partitioning algorithm. Overall, scalability experiments revealed that FABRIC can be used to simulate networks of up to twenty-five thousand cells, with the limiting issue being GPU memory.