Glossary

A processing unit, or processor, in a multi-core microprocessor

The average utilization of all cores on a platform while executing a given workload

Rate of data transfer across a network link, measured in bytes per second

A set of compute nodes connected via a network to be used as a high-capacity compute platform to run jobs

One of the a computers in a cluster that is used to run jobs

A software service that manages compute resources and handles requests for executing computational tasks

The fraction of time a core computes during application execution

A set of hardware resources (hardware infrastructure) managed by software services (software infrastructures) that make it possible to execute application workloads, such as workflows

The concept of moving computation closer to where data resides as this can be more efficient than sending large amounts of data to where a compute resource is available

A directed graph containing no cycles, often used to represent a workflow

A standard unit of "amount of work to do" used for scientific applications (as many of such applications perform mostly floating point arithmetic); computational hardware resources then have speed measured in flop/sec, i.e., how much "work" they can perform per time unit

The entry-point computer to a cluster, which typically is connected to the internet and runs software to handle job requests for the cluster's compute nodes

Augmenting a compute service by upgrading it with more machines

A workflow structure where multiple tasks "join" into a single task

The time it takes for a single packet to travel from one end of a network path to the other end

The overall execution time of an application execution (i.e., the duration of the time between the beginning of the execution and the completion of the last task completion).

The parallel speedup divided by the number of processors, as a percentage

The acceleration factor (when compared to a sequential execution) when running an application using multiple processors

The ability of a program to execute multiple streams of instructions simultaneously on multiple processors

A storage device, such as a hard drive, that retains data even after its power source has been shut off

The process of storing certain application files (i.e., initial input files) on some persistent storage prior to the application execution

A software service that manages persistent storage and handles requests for creating, deleting, reading, and writing files

The time elapsed between a task is submitted for execution and its completion

Augmenting a compute service by upgrading it with a faster processor or one with more cores

An application comprised of individual computational tasks that must execute in some particular sequence to produce a final desired output

A software tool that automatically orchestrates the execution of a workflow on a cyber infrastructure