Parallel Computing: Performance Metrics for Parallel Systems

Which of the following is true about task generation?

Certain decompositions lead to dynamic task generation during the execution of an algorithm. The tasks that constitute a parallel algorithm may be generated statically.

Which of the following is true about cost?

Cost can be expressed as the ratio of the execution time of the fastest parallel program to the execution time with a serialized program.

Which of the following is a factor that can impact the performance of a parallel program?

Data locality

Which of the following is true about efficiency?

Efficiency is a measure of the fraction of time for which a processing element is usefully employed.

Which of the following is a source of parallel overhead?

Extra computation Load imbalance

Which of the following is true about converting a sequential program into a parallel one?

More than one sequential algorithm may be available for a given problem, but all algorithms may not be equally suitable for parallelization.

Which of the following is true about scaling?

Scaling can be expressed as the ratio of the execution time of the fastest serial program to the execution time with a parallel program. You cannot make all non-cost-optimal systems cost-optimal by scaling down the number of processing elements. Scaling is the ability to be efficient using a parallel program. Using fewer than the maximum possible number of processing elements to execute a parallel algorithm is known as scaling down a parallel system in terms of the number of processing elements.

Which of the following is true about speedup? Which of the following is true regarding speedup?

Speedup is computed based on the best sequential algorithm. Speedup is only relevant for parallel programs. Speedup can never exceed the number of processing elements.

Which of the following is true regarding speedup?

Speedup measures the benefits of solving a particular problem using parallelism.

Which of the following is a metric for parallel programs?

Total parallel overhead

Which of the following is true about the scalability of parallel systems?

Two-way interactions usually involve predefined producer and consumer tasks.

Which of the following is true about overhead?

When converting a serial program into a parallel one, additional overhead may be added to the total execution time.

Which of the following is a method that reduces the overhead?

Working on the uniformity of the distribution of work

Which of the following is true about the scalability for parallel programs?

You can always make a scalable parallel system cost-optimal by adjusting the number of processors and the problem size.