1. Miguel F ERREIRA Department of Computer Science Miguel C ASQUILHO CPQ Centre for Chemical Processes Department of Chemical Engineering IST Instituto Superior Técnico UTL Technical University of Lisbon http://web.ist.utl.pt/mcasquilho/ A web application for distributed computing Lisboa (Portugal), 19–22 June 2013 19-Jun-2013A web appl. for distributed computing1 / 15

2. 19-Jun-2013A web appl. for distributed computing A BSTRACT A web application of scientific computing is presented, using MPI parallel programming, for a typical problem in packaging. As no analytical solution seems viable, a Monte Carlo approach was used. The following points are addressed, starting with the original (serial) solution: 1.Packaging problem and local serial computing 2.Remote parallel computing 3.Conclusions From the authors experience, the web environment is clearly recommended for scientific computing *, for academic and industrial purposes. * Scientific computing on the Internet: in a site, the user inserts his data, executes a program, and receives his results (no installations). 2 / 15 A web application for distributed computing

3. 19-Jun-2013A web appl. for distributed computing 1.Packaging problem and local serial computing 2.Remote parallel computing 3.Conclusions Alfredo Keil (1850–1907) Caminho da floresta 3 / 15 A web application for distributed computing

4. 19-Jun-2013A web appl. for distributed computing A pack of biscuits Schematically 4 / 15 1. 2. 3. Packaging problem and local serial computing Packaging problem A container to be filled with objects of random size (weight, thickness, etc.) Content: constrained by lower, L, and upper, U, specification limits How to get 2 kg of oranges ? Minimize the fractions out of spec (below L and above U) Random behaviour considered: Truncated Gaussian Truncation from calibration (fruits), moulding (biscuits)

5. 19-Jun-2013A web appl. for distributed computing5 / 15 1. 2. 3. Packaging problem and local serial computing Local solution using serial computing Web interface to receive user input Local call of the computing application Native Fortran program that runs the Monte Carlo simulation Treatment of output and graphic Formatting and presentation of results on the Web Original Fortran 90 program was previously developed for stand-alone local use. The new, parallel MPI version of the program was ported to C.

6. The packaging problem was studied with (a) Simple, sequential filling (usual) (b)Tube-like (FIFO) filling Strategy (b), as expected, revealed better results 19-Jun-2013A web appl. for distributed computing6 / 15 1. 2. 3. Packaging problem and local serial computing

7. 19-Jun-2013A web appl. for distributed computing 1.Packaging problem and local serial computing 2.Remote parallel computing 3.Conclusions A web application for distributed computing Carlos Botelho (1899-1982) Lisboa, tapeçaria de Portalegre 7 / 15

8. 19-Jun-2013A web appl. for distributed computing 1. 2. 3. Remote parallel computing (As imagens são hyperlinks) 8 / 15 Remote solution using parallel computing The original Fortran program was ported to C, and extended with MPI The number of Monte Carlo trials (e.g., 10 9 ) was evenly distributed by the available nodes Web interface unchanged from the serial version A new communication layer developed between the web interface and the MPI program: Remote call of the computing application Transfer of input and output end-to-end The remote side to call the MPI programa locally

9. 19-Jun-2013A web appl. for distributed computing System topology 9 / 15 1. 2. 3. Remote parallel computing

10. 19-Jun-2013A web appl. for distributed computing Results of an MPI run, 10 9 trials, finer (better) than serial 10 6 10 / 15 1. 2. 3. Remote parallel computing

11. 1.Packaging problem and local serial computing 2.Remote parallel computing 3.Conclusions 19-Jun-2013A web appl. for distributed computing A web application for distributed computing Henrique Medina (1901–1988) Tomando chá 11 / 15

12. 19-Jun-2013A web appl. for distributed computing A packaging problem frequently found in Industry was addressed. The problem was previously solved with a Fortran serial application, executable on the Web. The original problem was ported to C and then parallelized with MPI, also accessible through the Web. Making applications accessible over the Internet avoids platform incompatibilities (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.), and surpasses the limitations of the users computer. The use of the Internet for scientific computing dispenses with any required software installation. It is, thus, recommended for academic or industrial purposes. 1. 2. 3. Conclusions 12 / 15

13. 19-Jun-2013A web appl. for distributed computing DEI: Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), Technical University of Lisbon (UTL) CPQ: Centro de Processos Químicos (Centre for Chemical Processes), IST, UTL DEQ: Department of Chemical Engineering, IST, UTL CIIST: Centro de Informática do IST (Centre for Informatics), IST, UTL, Dr. Jorge Amador Milipeia, Lab. de Computação Avançada (Lab. of Advanced Computing), University of Coimbra Prof.ª Fátima C. Rosa (DEQ, IST, UTL) Keywords Scientific computing, Internet, parallel computing, MPI Acknowledgements 13 / 15

14. 19-Jun-2013A web appl. for distributed computing Casquilho, M. [2012] Scientific computing on the Internet, a little-trodden field, Universidade Aberta, Porto Salvo. Casquilho, M. [2013] Computação científica, Internet, Indústria (Scientific computing, Internet, Industry), 1.st Portuguese Meeting on Mathematics for Industry, FCUP, Universidade do Porto, Porto, 06–08 June. Ferreira, M., M. Casquilho [2013] Scientific computing over the Internet: an example in Geometry, WorldCIST'13, World Conference on Information Systems and Technologies, Olhão (Portugal)WorldCIST'13 Franco, B., M. Casquilho [2011] A Web application for scientific computing: combining several tools and languages to solve a statistical problem, CISTI'2011, 6.ª Conferência Ibérica de Sistemas e Tecnologias de Informação, Chaves (Portugal) CISTI'2011 Hughes, Alan [2006] University-industry linkages and UK science and innovation policy, Working Paper No. 326, Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge (UK) Bibliography 14 / 15

15. Miguel F ERREIRA Department of Computer Science Miguel C ASQUILHO CPQ Centre for Chemical Processes Department of Chemical Engineering IST Instituto Superior Técnico UTL Technical University of Lisbon http://web.ist.utl.pt/mcasquilho/ A web application for distributed computing Lisboa (Portugal), 19–22 June 2013 19-Jun-2013A web appl. for distributed computing15 / 15