Hypercube performance for 2-D seismic finite-difference modeling

Abstract

Wave-equation seismic modeling in two space dimensions is computationally intensive, often requiring hours of supercomputer CPU time to run typical geological models with 500 × 500 grids and 100 sources. This paper analyzes the performance of ACOUS2D, an explicit 4th-order finite-difference program, on Intel's 16-processor vector hypercube computer. The conversion of the sequential version of ACOUS2D to run on hypercube was straightforward, but time-consuming. The key consideration for optimal efficiency is load balancing. On a fairly typical geologic model, the 16-processor Intel vector hypercube computer ran ACOUS2D at 1/3 the speed of a Cray-1S.