PARALLEL ARRAY OBJECT I O SUPPORT ON DISTRIBUTED ENVIRONMENTS/

This paper presents a parallel file object environment to support dist ributed array store on shared-nothing distributed computing environmen ts. Our environment enables programmers to extend the concept of array distributions from memory levels to file levels. It allows parallel I /O that facilitates the distribution of objects in an application. Whe n objects are read and/or written by multiple applications using diffe rent distributions, we present a novel scheme to help programmers to s elect the best data distribution pattern according to a minimum amount of remote data movements for the store of array objects on distribute d file systems. Our selection scheme, to the best of our knowledge, is the first work to attempt to optimize the distribution patterns in th e secondary storage for HPF-like programs with inter-application cases . This is especially important for a class of problems called multiple disciplinary optimization (MDO) problems. Our test bed is built on an 8-node DEC Farm connected with an ethernet, FDDI, or ATM switch. Our experimental results with scientific applications show that not only o ur parallel file system can provide aggregate bandwidths, but also our selection scheme effectively reduces the communication traffic for th e system. (C) 1997 Academic Press.