Hardware Recomend FINAL

8/9/2019 Hardware Recomend FINAL

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Moldflow LunchtimeLuminaries

MPI Hardware

Recommendations

PRESENTED BY:Matt Jaworski

(Training Services Manager)


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Content Disclaimer

Note: The recommendations contained in

this presentation are to be used as a guide

and are based on knowledge gathered frominternal investigation. Moldflow Corporation

makes no guarantee or assurance of the

information contained herein. Furtherinformation and appropriate professional IT

advice should be sought. Decisions should

be made in accordance with normalbusiness evaluation methods.


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Agenda

Introduction

Recommendations for:

Front Side Bus

Memory

Processor

Hard Drive

Graphics

Support Platforms

Other Considerations

Summary


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Endless Choices?

Many options out in the market

Which one is best for us?

What does Moldflow recommend?

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Outline of Recommendations

Front Side Bus

RAM Size, Speed, Bandwidth

CPU

Cache Size

Clock Speed

Multi-core

Multi-processor

Benchmarks

Graphics

Hard Drive

Types

Access time

Capacity

Striping/RAID

Operating system 32 bit, 64 bit

Supported platforms

Workhorse or Workstation?

Balanced system


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Memory (RAM)

RAM is random access memory. Where

the operating system, application

programs and data in current use arestored.

Size 2 GB is recommended minimum.

Large models may require morememory. 4 GB or more may be needed

for large models. 64 bit OS will also be

needed. The more the memory, the more caching of disk

read/writes. Most beneficial for Cool and Warpanalysis time.


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Memory (RAM) contd

Memory speed- Look for the highest speedavailable for the motherboard (DDR2 800 MHz)

Memory bandwidth Available in Single, Dual orQuad Channel. Populate with same memory capacity DIMMS.

If buying Single Channel > Purchase 1 memory module

If buying Dual Channel > Purchase 2 memory modules,not 1

If buying Quad Channel > Purchase 4 memory modules,not less

The higher the memory bandwidth, the better the

performance however, Quad Channel is not necessarilythe quickest.

Single Channel Bandwidth ~ 2.5GB/s

Quad Channel Bandwidth ~ 4 x 1.5 GB/s

More Channels usually equate to less performance perchannel


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Memory (RAM) contd

Latency - RAM stores data in rows andcolumns. Column address strobe (CAS or CL)

latency is the number of clock cycles it takesbefore a column can be addressed on a RAM

chip. In most cases, a lower number indicates

better performance. ECC (Error Correction Code) Corrects errors

automatically

Decreases performance by small amount (2-3%) More expensive than non-ECC

Necessary when data integrity is important


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Central Processing Unit (CPU)

The processor interprets programinstructions and processes data.

Cache Size Smaller, faster memorywhich stores copies of data fromfrequently used RAM locations. The larger the cache the better the

performance.

CPU Clock Speed Cycles persecond (hertz) at which a computerperforms its most basic operations Generally, the higher the clock rate the

better the performance. The exception isnewer chip architecture.

EX. New 2.6 GHz Core 2 Duo willoutperform older P4 Xeon 3.2 GHz.

REF: http://www.tomshardware.com/2004/12/20/the_mother_of_all_cpu_charts_part_1/


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Central Processing Unit (CPU) contd

Multi or dual-core processors combinetwo or more independent processors into

a single device allowing thread &workflow parallelism. Generally the more cores in the CPU, the

lower the clock speed.

Most Moldflow Applications are singlethreaded, using multicore processors mayresult in an increase in execution time.

However, a parallel solution method wasimplemented for MPI 6.1 3D Warp analysisand this will take advantage of multi-core ormulti-processor systems.

REF: http://www.dell.com/content/topics/topic.aspx/global/products/pedge/topics/en/multi_core_main?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd


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Multiple processors Two ormore single processors or

CPUs in a machine. Single processors currently have

the fastest clock speeds however

this does not necessarily meanthey are the fastest

If possible benchmark both

scenarios

Dual CPU

Dual Core CPU

VS.

REF: http://www.dell.com/content/topics/topic.aspx/global/products/pedge/topics/en/multi_core_main?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd


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Advantages of multiple core or multipleprocessors vs. single processor

Multi-core or processor machines are able to: Run multiple analyses (workflow parallelism) where single

processor would fight for resources

Launch one analysis and still be able to use machine for

other activities (assuming enough resources)

Benchmarks Visithttp://www.spec.org/benchmarks.html for CPU

benchmark data


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Hard Drive

The faster the transfer andaccess rate, the better theperformance. Cool, Warp solver most dependent

Small Computer System Interface(SCSI) and now Serial Attached

SCSI (SAS) provide the highesttransfer rates Bi-directional bus (SAS)

Serial Advanced Technology

Attachment (SATA) provides acost effective alternative to SCSIbut typically with slower speeds.


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Hard Drive contd

Striping/Raid 0 will increase

performance

Use 2 or 3 equivalent disks and make1 logical disk.

15K RPM drives offer better

performance (faster access times) Storage capacity is important so

make sure you have enough.

At least 73 GB (200 GB+recommended depending on modelsize, analysis solver and mesh type).

REF:http://www.fujitsu.com/global/services/computing/storage/system/glossary/raid/raid0/


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Graphics

Purchase cards specifically

designed for OpenGL

Look for Workstation cards ratherthan those designed for gaming

The higher the memory the

better (128 MB Minimum, 256MB+ recommended).

PCI Express is recommended as

opposed to AGP or PCI. Onboard graphics not

recommended


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Graphics contd

Look for dual monitor support on cards

Increases work performance

Pre & Post-processing Able to display two applications on separate

screens simultaneously or one across both

REF: www.digitaltigers.com/dualmonitors.shtml


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Graphics contd

DVI (Digital Video Interface)

Consider Dual-Link DVI-I to get

most out of digital signal Capable of twice bandwidth of

single link DVI

Need both card and monitorssupport

Higher screen resolutions

Up to 2560 x 1600 (at 60 Hz) -9.9 Gbps

Also supports analog signaling

REF: http://www.datapro.net/techinfo/dvi_info.html


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Graphics contd

Install the cards latest drivers from

manufacturers website.

Best to install the certified applicationdriver (WHQL) rather than beta

(stability reasons)

NVIDIA(http://www.nvidia.com/page/home.html )

ATI (http://www.ati.com/ )

Intel(http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scripts-df-external/Support_Intel.aspx# )


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Graphics contd

Consider Microsoft VistaCompatible Cards for upgrade

purposes. Moldflow Technical Support

maintains a Graphics Card Listcontaining information on a subsetof cards. Great resource to see if there are any

reported issues with a particular card.

Visit the MPI MCC Graphics Forum oremail [email protected] andrequest a copy of the latest graphiccard list.


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32 vs 64 bit OS

32-bit Operating Systems (OS), such asWindows XP Professional, have a 2 GB

memory limitation for Moldflow applications(theoretically 232 or 4 GB).

64-bit OS does not have this 2 GB memorylimitation (now 264 or 17,179,869,184 GB).

A supported 64-bit OS, such as Windows XPProfessional x64 Edition, is recommended,especially for large 3D models due to the large

memory requirements. 64-bit OS compatibility issues (drivers,

applications, peripherals)


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Name Brand vs. White Box

Best to purchase a name brand workstation

or laptop

Tested for compatibility, performance, support


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Balanced system

Purchase a balanced system

Dont skimp on a few crucial components

Example, 4 high-end components & 1 low-end mayintroduce a performance bottleneck

Many manufacturers offer balanced Classsystems such as Business, Desktop and

Workstation. In general, the Workstation classwill offer the best balance for MPI performance.


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MPI 6.1 Supported Platforms


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MPI 6.1 Supported Platforms

MPI 6.1 is the last MPI release that will support any UNIX OS platform (32 or 64 bit)

LINUX however will still be supported going forward.

Released on Friday, February 16, 2007 with MPI 6.1 Rev 1 release.


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Workhorse vs. Workstation Machine

Workhorse machine

Separate machine that users submit analyses to

via Job Manager (floating license/task) Need for best CPU, RAM, Hard drive

GUI/Graphics not necessarily needed

Client machine considerations (RAM, Graphics) Workstation machine (or laptop)

Machine analyst uses for daily work tasks and

submits jobs locally (node locked or floatinglicense/task)

Need for multiple processors or cores


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Job Manager


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When running a large analysis such as cool it isimportant to not run other applications

Decrease in RAM may cause RAM buffer to decrease,significantly increasing analysis time

Use of swap or virtual will slow down analyses byorders of magnitude.

Mesh size needs to be optimized as it directly dictateshardware performance.

No need to overly refine mesh


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MPI 6.1 does not support Microsoft

Vista but future MPI versions will, so

be sure to purchase a Vistacompatible system for upgrade

purposes.

Obviously if all the guidelines in thisdocument are followed, the computer

purchased will be very expensive. Use

this presentation to guide yourdecision making process based the

best price versus performance ratio.

Example pricing


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Summary (in order of importance)

FSB - Higher Speed is better

Memory Speed - Faster is better

CPU Cache - Larger is better CPU Clock Speed - Higher is better

CPU number of Cores or multiple processors?

More Cores is generally better but not at expense of ClockSpeed

More Cores may increase overall execution time, but will allowmore analyses to be run simultaneously

Disk Speed - SCSI/SAS is better Graphics More memory is better, Commercial OpenGL

cards give better performance, install latest drivers


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Questions?

Thank you for your time!

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