Utilizing multiple CPUs

Frequently asked questions about GAMS

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abhosekar
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Utilizing multiple CPUs

Post by abhosekar »

In the following, we will give an overview of the different ways to increase solver performance, mainly by considering hardware upgrading. Note that not all solvers have all capabilities and that the feature naming may differ, therefore, we explain a capability by taking a particular solver, as an example. However, we recommend the reviewing the documentation of the specific solver of interest to see what capabilities that solver provides.

In the discussion, we will distinguish between a single computer and a computing grid. We will also distinguish the case where the model consists of a single model instance, i.e. one solve statement, and the case where the model consists of several model instances. We will highlight the case where the computer has several cores, i.e. CPU's, see GAMS option threads. However, we will not consider the strategy that solves a single model instance by using different solver parameters, i.e. concurrent mode, because this may lead to confusion in this context. Instead, we note that, if the solver parameters are well-chosen, for example, with the help of the modeler's good insights and parameter tuning, then the benefit of concurrent mode optimization may lead to only minor performance improvements.


A simplified guideline to increase computing power may be as follows:
1. Fast CPU
2. Sufficient amount of memory, because the use of swap memory (hard-disk) is, comparably, extremely slow.
3. Multiple cores
4. Multiple computers, i.e. a grid computing environment


In the next section, we assume that the computer(s) has a sufficient amount of memory and multiple cores. Please keep in mind that a strong and suitable algorithm may use little computer resources and outperform an unsuitable and weak algorithm that drains the computer out of its resources. We suggest paying attention to the task manager (Windows) / top (Unix) / activity monitor (Mac) in order to observe how a solver consumes the resources of a computer.

Single computer, single model instance

We can first pay attention to how well a solver can take advantage of multiple cores.

For example, if we have a Linear Programming (LP) problem and use GAMS/GUROBI. The main algorithm choice is between Simplex and parallel Barrier. The Simplex method is usually better on models with a dense problem matrix, while the parallel Barrier method is many times more efficient for models with a sparse matrix. The simplex algorithm does not take advantage of several cores, while the parallel Barrier can take advantage of several cores. Hence, the fastest method depends on model structure, amount of available memory, and the number of cores.

For example, if we have a Mixed Integer linear Programming (MIP) problem and use GAMS/CPLEX. The parallelmode option offers a deterministic (default) and opportunistic mode. Deterministic mode traverses the Branch-and-Bound (BB) tree in a deterministic and reproducible manner, however, the use of cores may seem inefficient. The opportunistic mode can keep all cores busy, but the BB tree is likely traversed differently for each run and, therefore, only the final global optimal solution should have the same objective value.

Next we mention some other solvers that support the use of multiple cores to some extent (an accepted option name in brackets): CBC(threads), Ipopt(threads), KNITRO(threads), LINDO(IPM NUM THREADS), MOSEK (MSK IPAR NUM THREADS), SULUM(numthreads), XPRESS (threads).

Furthermore, the following links show some examples of how it may be possible to improve your model or tune CPLEX.

In conclusion, ensure that you have sufficient memory before increasing the use of cores. Consider improving your model formulation and tuning your solver. If this does not help, then you may consider a more powerful computer or even a grid computing environment.

Single computer, multiple model instances

We distinguish between two different cases. The first case is when we have several model instances that only differ in regard to parameter values. The second case is when the model instances also differ in structure (size or algebraic formulation).

In the first case, we may use the Gather-Update-Solve-Scatter (GUSS) facility, instead of a loop statement. GUSS keeps the instantiation of the GAMS model (as generated by the solve statement) in memory and only updates its data between consecutive solves. This can increase performance if generating a model instance is a bottleneck or the solver can be “hot started”.

Note, the following solvers cannot be used as subsolvers of ALPHAECP, BARON, CONVERT, DECISC, DECISM, DICOPT, EXAMINER, GAMSCHK, JAMS, KESTREL, LOGMIP, MILES, MPSGE, MSNLP, NLPEC, PATHNLP, SBB, and XA.

In situations where input data for the next model instance is dependent on the previous model instance solution, the GAMS API can be used to update a once generated model instantiation. However, in this case, multiple cores can only be utilized, if several independent sequences of model instances can be identified.

If the model instances also differ in structure, it is possible to execute the model instances asynchronously and distribute the workload on different cores. However, keep in mind that your computer needs to have sufficiently much memory to support this approach.

Grid computing environment, multiple model instances

The methods from the previous section also apply here. Furthermore, the GAMS Grid Facility can be used, see GAMS User's Guide Appendix - The GAMS Grid Computing Facility. The Grid Facility can also be used in combination with GUSS, see this example.

Additional Notes
It is possible to send a GAMS model to the Gurobi Compute Server, see GUROBI manual chapter Compute Server.
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