emCluster ® Computing
Applying the Power of Computing Clusters to Sonnet EM Analysis
The traditional method of frequency domain electromagnetic (EM) analysis on a single computer requires each frequency to be analyzed one after another in series. With Sonnet emCluster, the high frequency designer can leverage computing resources composed of multiple computers operating in parallel in order to shorten simulation time. An N-fold speed increase is possible with a computing environment of N computers, each with similar computing speed.
Sonnet emCluster maps the Sonnet EM analysis engines to a parallel computing environment. The entire frequency sweep is intelligently split into as many single frequency jobs as required. These jobs are individually assigned by emCluster to be processed in parallel on the resources that are available on the cluster. emCluster automatically schedules the jobs for analysis on simulation servers that meet the job requirements (available RAM, etc.) This significantly reduces the overall wait time and efficiently speeds the design process.
There are two emCluster Computing solutions available from Sonnet Software, and both are enabled with an emCluster license:
- Sonnet emCluster for LSF® (LSF Cluster): This product provides frequency splitting and data recombination functions, and uses the Platform Computing™ LSF® cluster control system for shared computing resources. Platform™ LSF is an industry-standard product used by design teams for load sharing and job scheduling for computing resources that may be shared between several compute-intensive applications. LSF Cluster ensures policy-driven, prioritized service levels to give job owners an always-on access to resources. This requires an underlying Platform LSF installation on the cluster.
- emCluster using Sonnet Networking, (SonnetCluster): This solution employs a cluster job control system devised by Sonnet. It is useful for situations where the cluster computing hardware is dedicated to Sonnet analyses, or where where is no pre-existing cluster control/scheduling software. It is simple to set up and completely self-contained within the Sonnet analysis environment.
Both emCluster computing solutions result in accelerated EM Analysis by using parallel processing on a simulation server cluster often made up of ordinary computers. Designed for workgroup use, emCluster not only speeds up and improves the efficiency of the analysis, it also maximizes utilization of valuable IT resources. Sonnet Networking Cluster offers similar level of parallel computing options as the LSF Cluster however it does not rely on a third party load sharing facility such as the Platform LSF. While LSF Cluster is much more configurable in terms of setting up cluster network, setting up user profiles, usage reporting and many other fine details involving the use of the cluster, the Sonnet Networking is much easier to setup to get you started faster, and it allows the users to do more in the way of using Sonnet in a parallel computing environment. In addition, Sonnet Cluster is self-contained without the need to incur additional cost to acquire Platform LSF.
Using Adaptive Band Synthesis (ABS) with emCluster
The Adaptive Band Synthesis (ABS) technique provides a fine resolution response for a frequency band requiring only a small number of analysis points. Sonnet performs a full analysis at a few points (discrete) and uses the resulting internal, or cache, data to synthesize a fine resolution band. This is often the most efficient process in Sonnet by which you can obtain full response data over a band. By using emCluster to perform the analyses at the discrete data points in parallel, you can further increase the efficiency of an ABS sweep. There are two ways of accomplishing an ABS sweep when using emCluster. You may submit an ABS sweep and allow emCluster to determine at which discrete data points to run a full analysis (automatic algorithm) or you may use the Frequency Sweep Combinations to define linear sweeps or single discrete frequency points at which you wish to run an analysis before attempting the ABS sweep (user-defined).
Features and Benefits
- Frequencies for which results already exist are automatically excluded from the analysis. This reduces the analysis time by minimizing any unnecessary EM analysis.
- Designed for workgroup use with the "fair share" usage model, emCluster will assign resources to all users on a fair basis. This avoids many difficulties with the first come, first serve usage model.
- emCluster can intelligently choose a server host computer based on analysis size of a given project, licensing considerations, loading, time of day, etc. Smaller jobs may be sent to a computing host reserved just for small jobs to avoid waiting behind a larger job which requires substantially more processing time. emCluster can also schedule very big jobs for night or weekend runs or restrict them to specific server hosts. This assures a fast response time for high priority jobs.
- LSF Cluster is very flexible with regards to the platform. Servers and Clients can be any one of a Windows, Linux or Solaris platform.
- Sonnet Networking Cluster is available for Windows and Linux.
- Load Balancing by emCluster maximizes resources to ensure minimal idle time of valuable IT resources
emCluster® is a registered trademark of Sonnet Software, Inc.
LSF®, Platform™, and Platform Computing™ are trademarks or registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corp., registered in many jurisdictions
worldwide.
