Unlock Superior Software Performance with Intel's Parallel Studio XE 2013

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Intel's Tools Refresh: Parallel Studio XE 2013 and Cluster Studio XE 2013
3. Features of Parallel Studio XE 2013 and Cluster Studio XE 2013
   • Tuned support for Ivy Bridge microarchitecture
   • Support for Haswell microarchitecture
   • Full support for Intel Xeon Phi coprocessors
   • Expanded support for C++ 11 and Fortran 2008
   • Support for MPI 2.2
4. Exciting Features Inspired by Customer Needs
   • Low overhead Java profiling
   • Sleep state analysis
   • Planar checker for reliability
   • Conditional numeric group reducibility
5. Performance Advantage of Intel Tools
   • Benchmarks comparison with Microsoft Visual Studio and Canoe compiler
6. Support for Latest Hardware
   • Ivy Bridge microarchitecture
   • Haswell microarchitecture
   • Intel Xeon Phi coprocessors
7. Analyzing Performance with Vtune
   • New analysis features for Vtune
   • Low overhead Java profiling
   • Power analysis
   • Pointer checker
   • Heap growth capability
8. Reproducibility and Numerical Consistency
   • Ensuring reproducibility with Intel libraries
   • Importance of consistent floating-point operations
9. Pricing and Availability
   • Immediate availability of Parallel Studio XE
   • Future release of Cluster Studio XE
10. Conclusion

🖥️ Introduction

In this episode of the Rich Report Podcast, James Rynders, the Director and Chief Evangelist for Intel's tools, joins Rich to discuss the latest refresh of Intel's compiler and tools for parallel programming. James introduces Intel's Parallel Studio XE 2013 and Intel Cluster Studio XE 2013, highlighting the features and capabilities they offer to software developers. He emphasizes the focus on helping developers achieve top performance using new hardware architectures and diverse environments. James also mentions the importance of supporting the upcoming Intel Xeon Phi coprocessors and the commitment to stay up-to-date with the latest standards in C++ and Fortran.

💡 Intel's Tools Refresh: Parallel Studio XE 2013 and Cluster Studio XE 2013

Intel's annual refresh of their compiler and tools for parallel programming brings the introduction of Intel's Parallel Studio XE 2013 and its superset called Intel Cluster Studio XE 2013. While Parallel Studio XE is immediately available, Cluster Studio XE, which includes support for MPI analysis and library, will be released in a couple of months. These tools aim to assist developers in achieving high performance and leveraging the capabilities of new hardware architectures.

🔧 Features of Parallel Studio XE 2013 and Cluster Studio XE 2013

The latest version of Intel's tools offers a range of features to support developers in optimizing performance. This includes tuned support for Ivy Bridge microarchitecture, which builds on previous releases and incorporates customer feedback. Additionally, there is support across the board for Haswell microarchitecture, ensuring developers can prepare their software for forthcoming products. Intel's full support for Intel Xeon Phi coprocessors, which have over 50 cores and excel in data parallel applications, allows developers to utilize the power of highly parallel processing. In terms of language support, Intel's tools are compliant with expanded C++ 11 and Fortran 2008 standards, showcasing the commitment to staying at the forefront of language advancements. The tools also offer support for MPI 2.2, enabling efficient communication and collaboration in parallel computing environments.

🚀 Exciting Features Inspired by Customer Needs

Intel's commitment to customer satisfaction is evident in the innovative features inspired by customer needs. One exciting capability is the low overhead Java profiling, which allows statistical sampling and analysis of code sections running Java. This feature extends Intel's analysis capabilities to programs that include Java code. Another noteworthy feature is the ability to analyze sleep states and display them in a time graph, enabling developers to optimize power usage in handheld devices, embedded systems, and data center applications. Intel has also introduced a Novel capability called planar checker, which monitors the growth of heap allocations, enhancing reliability. One of the most commented-on features is the conditional numeric group reducibility, which provides predictability to floating-point operations and eliminates non-associative errors, ensuring consistent results across runs.

⚡ Performance Advantage of Intel Tools

Intel's tools showcase a significant performance advantage over other offerings in the market. Benchmark comparisons with Microsoft Visual Studio and Canoe compiler demonstrate the superior performance delivered by Intel's tools on both Windows and Linux platforms. In benchmarks such as spec int, spec FP, and polyhedron, Intel's tools consistently outperform competitors, providing developers with optimized performance for their applications. This advantage extends to Intel's libraries, including Math Kernel Library (MKL) and Intel Integrated Performance Primitives (IPP), which offer excellent performance and are less sensitive to variations in problem size.

💻 Support for Latest Hardware

To ensure developers can leverage the latest hardware advancements, Intel's tools provide comprehensive support for Ivy Bridge microarchitecture, Haswell microarchitecture, and Intel Xeon Phi coprocessors. The tools, including compilers, libraries, analysis tools, and debugging tools, are designed to be ready to support these new architectures, enabling developers to achieve optimal performance. By releasing the tools before the hardware, Intel also allows other software companies to have their products ready in sync with the hardware launch.

🔍 Analyzing Performance with Vtune

Intel's Vtune Amplifier provides developers with valuable insights into program performance. The tool offers a range of new analysis features, including low overhead Java profiling, allowing developers to associate detailed statistical sampling with Java code. Vtune also enables the analysis of sleep states, providing a clear view of processor activity and power usage. The pointer checker capability in the compiler is an innovative addition, allowing developers to detect potential pointer-related bugs by adding checks at usage points. Furthermore, the new heap growth capability helps identify memory accumulation bugs that can cause programs to Consume excessive memory. These capabilities are particularly beneficial in parallel programming, where eliminating bugs and optimizing performance are crucial.

🔄 Reproducibility and Numerical Consistency

Reproducibility and numerical consistency are vital factors in software validation and testing. Intel's tools, including Math Kernel Library (MKL), OpenMP, and Threading Building Blocks, offer new features to ensure reproducibility. These features allow developers to specify the order of computations and parallel reductions, ensuring consistent results across different runs and processors. By making floating-point operations predictable, Intel's tools eliminate non-associative errors and provide the same results run after run, enhancing confidence in program correctness.

💰 Pricing and Availability

Intel's Parallel Studio XE 2013 is available immediately, enabling developers to access the latest tools and optimize their software for high performance. Cluster Studio XE 2013, which includes additional capabilities for MPI analysis and library, will be released in the near future. Pricing information can be obtained from Intel's official website.

🎉 Conclusion

Intel's tools refresh brings exciting enhancements and capabilities to empower software developers in achieving top performance. The updated Parallel Studio XE 2013 and Cluster Studio XE 2013 offer extensive support for new hardware architectures, language standards, and parallel programming. With features inspired by customer needs and a focus on reproducibility and performance optimization, Intel's tools provide a comprehensive solution for developers seeking to harness the full potential of their hardware and deliver superior software performance. Get ready to unlock the power of Intel's tools and take your software performance to new heights.