Running parallel programs interactively

To run a parallel program interactively on the cluster requires two steps.

• Acquire desired number of compute nodes via the Portable Batch System that controls compute node allocation to users.
• Run the PVM or MPI parallel program.
  • Running a PVM program. There are three possibilities:
    • pvm: A command line console that can be used to start up the PVM system and run parallel programs. It has built-in help. Useful for low-bandwidth remote access to the cluster.

    • xpvm: A graphical user interface that can be used to start/stop the PVM system, run parallel programs, visualize the execution in various ways, debug parallel programs and more. Excellent for developers.
    • pvmrun: A self contained utility that starts the PVM system, runs the parallel program and then cleanly stops the PVM system.
  • Running a MPICH MPI program. Use the mpiexec command after starting the MPICH daemons.