Parallel programs in the Cray and on the Alliant: a comparative evaluation

The microtasking capabilities of two computers are examined. Microtasking is a loop-based form of multitasking on MIMD (multiple-instruction, multiple-data-stream) computers in which much of the synchronization and control of parallel tasks in a user's program is managed by vendor software. Differences in the microtasking features of Cray X-MP/4 and Alliant FX/8 are described, the processes of applying them to different types of partial differential equation software are compared, and performance results from several experiments are presented.<
>