Q&A from Webinar - Solve Parallelism with Intel® Parallel Studio

Submit New Article

Last Modified On :   July 1, 2009 4:25 PM PDT
Rate
 


Q&A from Webinar - Solve Parallelism with Intel® Parallel Studio.

Q1. Can I use Fortran language with Intel(R) Parallel Studio?

A: No. The Intel Parallel Studio is targeting Microsoft* Visual C++ developers.
If your program uses Fortran language, you should use the following tools:

  • Intel Visual Fortran Compiler Professional Edition for Windows
  • Intel VTune™ Analyzer with Intel Thread Profiler for Windows
  • Intel Thread Checker for Windows*
Please visit http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/intel-software-evaluation-center/ for more information.

Q2. Can you tell Intel Parallel Inspector to ignore the system DLLs? They probably don't contain threading errors, wouldn't you expect? 
A: Yes, but most are already ignored by default. 

Suppression can be used to suppress any errors reported in any DLL, source file, or function.  See the Defining Private Suppression Rules topic in the Parallel Inspector help for more information.

Q3. What versions of Microsoft* Visual Studio* will the Intel Parallel Studio run in? 
A: The Intel Parallel Studio can be used with Visual Studio 2005* standard edition or above, or Visual Studio 2008* standard edition or above.

Please see the Release Notes at http://software.intel.com/sites/products/documentation/studio/studio/en-us/2009/start/release_notes_studio.pdf for complete information.

Q4. Can you comment on the compatibility of OpenMP* with Windows Threads?
A: OpenMP and the native thread can be used together.
Be aware of the possibility of thread over subscription. You can control the number of threads for OpenMP to use from an environment variable or programmatically in the code.

There's one nice article talking about this at http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/intel-threading-building-blocks-openmp-or-native-threads/

Q5.  I have tried running Intel Parallel Amplifier on an interactive Embedded system and it quickly fails to start. What I would like to do is profile execution for a period of time and then get an analysis. Any tips for how to work with this type of application?
A: If the program can run within Microsoft Visual Studio, the Intel Parallel Amplifier should work. It might be a bug.
To report any issue about Intel Parallel Studio, please visit our Studio Forum http://software.intel.com/en-us/forums/intel-parallel-studio/.

Q6. Can Intel Parallel Studio help us detect cache thrashing, which is one of the bottlenecks of multi-core programming?
A: No.
Please use the Intel VTune Analyzer with Intel Thread Profiler for Windows*.

Q7.  What about cross-compiling and MacOS X* & Linux* support?
A: No, that is not supported by the Intel Parallel Studio.

The cross compiling for a different architecture of the same OS is supported, but it's not supported for a different OS. i.e. you can cross compiling the application for Intel 64 Windows on an IA-32 Windows system. you can not cross compiling the application for Linux or MacOS X on a Windows system.

For Linux, please use the tools below:
  • Intel C++ Compiler Professional Edition for Linux
  • Intel VTune Analyzer for Linux 
  • Intel Thread Checker for Linux


    • For MacOS X, we currently have only the following:

  • Intel C++ Compiler Professional Edition for MacOS X


    • Please visit http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/intel-software-evaluation-center/ for more information.


    Q8. Can I compile the MFC-based applications with Intel® Parallel Composer?
    A: Yes if the code does not use "Attribute" or "CLR". 
    The Intel Parallel Studio only supports native or unmanaged C/C++ program.

    Q9.  Does the Intel Parallel Studio encompass all the features of Intel VTune Analyzer? Can Intel Parallel Studio replace Intel VTune Analyzer?
    A: No.
    Please see this article http://software.intel.com/sites/products/collateral/studio/Amplifier_VTune_Comparison.pdf for detail.

    Q10. Surely your product targets the Intel architecture how about other brand CPUs. When we use your product it will also work in other CPUs without problem and still get the same performance?
    A: Yes, the Intel Parallel Studio can be used on any other brand CPUs with Windows OS. The Intel Parallel Composer has options for targeting other CPUs and the performance should be better.

     

    Please see this KB for detail - http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/performance-tools-for-software-developers-intel-compiler-options-for-sse-generation-and-processor-specific-optimizations/

    Q11.  How long does it take to finish the Intel Parallel Amplifier and Intel Parallel Inpector analysis on a large application (32 MB)? I have been running one for hours, and it is still going.
    A: The Intel Parallel Amplifier should not take too long like Parallel Inspector. Be sure to report problems to our Forum http://software.intel.com/en-us/forums/intel-parallel-studio/.

    Q12. What happens if you have an application with languages other than C++? Can you still analyze it with Parallel Studio? What if a deadlock happens in your Visual Basic* code, for example?
    A: No, the Intel Parallel Studio only supports C++ native code.
    If the deadlock happens in a DLL of Visual Basic, the Parallel Inspector can not find it.

    Q13.  Some operating systems like AIX* allow application developers to have threads to be rescheduled on the same processor -- does this tool presently (or a later version may) capture processor cache hits/misses?
    A: Not right now.  A future version of the Parallel Studio will support cache miss detection.

    Please use the Intel VTune Analyzer with Intel Thread Profiler for Windows.




    This article applies to: Intel® Parallel Amplifier Knowledge Base,   Intel® Parallel Composer Knowledge Base,   Intel® Parallel Inspector Knowledge Base