ParaGraph: A Performance Visualization Tool for MPI

ParaGraph is a graphical display tool for visualizing the behavior and performance of parallel programs that use MPI (Message-Passing Interface). The visual animation of a parallel program is based on execution trace information gathered during an actual run of the program on a message-passing parallel computer system. The resulting trace data are replayed pictorially to provide a dynamic depiction of the behavior of the parallel program, as well as graphical summaries of its overall performance. The same performance data can be viewed from many different visual perspectives to gain insights that might be missed by any single view. We describe the visualization tool, discuss the motivation and philosophy behind its design, and provide details on how to use it. ∗Research supported by the U.S. Department of Energy through the University of California under subcontract number B341494.