OpenSHMEM-UCX: Evaluation of UCX for Implementing OpenSHMEM Programming Model

The OpenSHMEM reference implementation was developed towards the goal of developing an open source and high-performing OpenSHMEM implementation. To achieve portability and performance across various networks, the OpenSHMEM reference implementation uses GASNet and UCCS for network operations. Recently, new network layers have emerged with the promise of providing high-performance, scalability, and portability for HPC applications. In this paper, we implement the OpenSHMEM reference implementation to use the UCX framework for network operations. Then, we evaluate its performance and scalability on Cray XK systems to understand UCX’s suitability for developing the OpenSHMEM programming model. Further, we develop a benchmark called SHOMS for evaluating the OpenSHMEM implementation. Our experimental results show that OpenSHMEM-UCX outperforms the vendor supplied OpenSHMEM implementation in most cases on the Cray XK system by up to 40% with respect to message rate and up to 70% for the execution of application kernels.