Towards Self-optimization in HPC I/O

Performance analysis and optimization of high-performance I/O systems is a daunting task. Mainly, this is due to the overwhelmingly complex interplay of internal processes while executing application programs. Unfortunately, there is a lack of monitoring tools to reduce this complexity to a bearable level. For these reasons, the project Scalable I/O for Extreme Performance (SIOX) aims to provide a versatile environment for recording system activities and learning from this information. While still under development, SIOX will ultimately assist in locating and diagnosing performance problems and automatically suggest and apply performance optimizations.

The SIOX knowledge path is concerned with the analysis and utilization of data describing the cause-and-effect chain recorded via the monitoring path. In this paper, we present our refined modular design of the knowledge path. This includes a description of logical components and their interfaces, details about extracting, storing and retrieving abstract activity patterns, a concept for tying knowledge to these patterns, and the integration of machine learning. Each of these tasks is illustrated through examples. The feasibility of our design is further demonstrated with an internal component for anomaly detection, permitting intelligent monitoring to limit the SIOX system’s impact on system resources.