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PVM: Parallel Virtual Machine

by Anu Rao

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Running PVM

• Set Up

  You need to add the following environment variables to your .bashrc file (assuming you are using the bash shell) :

   
  PVM_ARCH=LINUX
  PVM_ROOT=/usr/share/pvm3
  export PVM_ARCH
  export PVM_ROOT
  
  

  Add this to you path: /usr/share/pvm3/lib

  NOTE: You need to be able to ssh to the machines you wish to run all together with PVM. Also, you must be able to run PVM (i.e., have it installed) on each machine.

• Compiling and Linking

  Use the aimk (basically make) to compile & link your PVM codes. By default the makefiles are named Makefile.aimk, and it places the binaries in the directory $HOME/pvm3/bin/$PVM_ARCH.

  NOTE: You will have to have compiled & linked your code on each machine you wish to run it on.

• Running using xpvm

  • To start, at the LINUX prompt type
    xpvm &
  • Add hosts with the Hosts menu, or use a .xpvm_hosts file.
  • Run your program via the Tasks menu. By default xpvm looks for the executables in the directory $HOME/pvm3/bin/$PVM_ARCH
  • If things screw up, go to the Reset menu and select Reset PVM
  • To quit but leave things running, hit the Quit button. If you type xpvm again it will reconnect to the previous session. To exit and kill the PVM daemon, hit the Halt button.

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PVM Examples

Examples that come with the PVM package are kept in the /usr/share/pvm3/examples directory. See the Readme file there.

I have some mathematical examples of my own:

• matrix_mult: example of matrix multiplication using PVM
• simpson_int: example of Simpson's 1/3 Rule integration using PVM
• simple_example: a simple example of communication using PVM

To run these examples, create a subdirectory in your home directory called pvm3, and copy the files from the links listed above into this pvm3 subdirectory. For details on how to run these examples, check out the links for each example.

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References and Resources

• man pages are available (see man pvm_intro and man pvm)
• consult the documentation in the /usr/share/doc/pvm-3.4.4 directory
• read the /usr/share/pvm3/Readme file
• here is a list and short description of some common PVM subroutines
• the file pvm3.h contains the error codes
• PVM Homepage at Oak Ridge National Lab
• MHPCC PVM Web Page