Performance Profiling

Goal

Provide tools to analyze simulation performance, identify bottlenecks, and recommend optimization strategies for computational materials science simulations.

Requirements

• Python 3.8+
• No external dependencies (uses Python standard library only)
• Works on Linux, macOS, and Windows

Inputs to Gather

Before running profiling scripts, collect from the user:

Decision Guidance

When to Use Each Script

Need to identify slow phases?
├── YES → Use timing_analyzer.py
│         └── Parse simulation logs for timing data
│
Need to understand parallel performance?
├── YES → Use scaling_analyzer.py
│         └── Analyze strong or weak scaling efficiency
│
Need to estimate memory requirements?
├── YES → Use memory_profiler.py
│         └── Estimate memory from problem parameters
│
Need optimization recommendations?
└── YES → Use bottleneck_detector.py
          └── Combine analyses and get actionable advice

Choosing Analysis Thresholds

Script Outputs (JSON Fields)

Workflow

Complete Profiling Workflow

1. Analyze timing from simulation logs
2. Analyze scaling from multi-run data (if available)
3. Profile memory from simulation parameters
4. Detect bottlenecks and get recommendations
5. Implement optimizations based on recommendations
6. Re-profile to verify improvements

Quick Profiling (Timing Only)

1. Run timing analyzer on simulation log
2. Identify dominant phases (>50% of runtime)
3. Apply targeted optimizations to dominant phases

CLI Examples

Timing Analysis

# Basic timing analysis
python3 scripts/timing_analyzer.py \
    --log simulation.log \
    --json

# Custom timing pattern
python3 scripts/timing_analyzer.py \
    --log simulation.log \
    --pattern 'Step\s+(\w+)\s+took\s+([\d.]+)s' \
    --json

Scaling Analysis

# Strong scaling (fixed problem size)
python3 scripts/scaling_analyzer.py \
    --data scaling_data.json \
    --type strong \
    --json

# Weak scaling (constant work per processor)
python3 scripts/scaling_analyzer.py \
    --data scaling_data.json \
    --type weak \
    --json

Memory Profiling

# Estimate memory requirements
python3 scripts/memory_profiler.py \
    --params simulation_params.json \
    --available-gb 16.0 \
    --json

Bottleneck Detection

# Detect bottlenecks from timing only
python3 scripts/bottleneck_detector.py \
    --timing timing_results.json \
    --json

# Comprehensive analysis with all inputs
python3 scripts/bottleneck_detector.py \
    --timing timing_results.json \
    --scaling scaling_results.json \
    --memory memory_results.json \
    --json

Conversational Workflow Example

User: My simulation is taking too long. Can you help me identify what’s slow?

Agent workflow:

1. Ask for simulation log file
2. Run timing analyzer:

   python3 scripts/timing_analyzer.py --log simulation.log --json
   

3. Interpret results:
   • If solver dominates (>50%): Recommend preconditioner tuning
   • If assembly dominates: Recommend caching or vectorization
   • If I/O dominates: Recommend reducing output frequency
4. If user has multi-run data, analyze scaling:

   python3 scripts/scaling_analyzer.py --data scaling.json --type strong --json
   

5. Generate comprehensive recommendations:

   python3 scripts/bottleneck_detector.py --timing timing.json --scaling scaling.json --json
   

Interpretation Guidance

Timing Analysis

Scaling Analysis

Memory Profile

Error Handling

Optimization Strategies by Bottleneck Type

Solver Bottlenecks

• Use algebraic multigrid (AMG) preconditioner
• Tighten solver tolerance if over-solving
• Consider direct solver for small problems
• Profile matrix assembly vs solve time

Assembly Bottlenecks

• Cache element matrices if geometry is static
• Use vectorized assembly routines
• Consider matrix-free methods
• Parallelize assembly with coloring

I/O Bottlenecks

• Reduce output frequency
• Use parallel I/O (HDF5, MPI-IO)
• Write to fast scratch storage
• Compress output data

Scaling Bottlenecks

• Investigate communication overhead
• Check for load imbalance
• Reduce synchronization points
• Use asynchronous communication
• Consider hybrid MPI+OpenMP

Memory Bottlenecks

• Reduce mesh resolution
• Use iterative solver (lower memory than direct)
• Enable out-of-core computation
• Increase number of processors
• Use single precision where appropriate

Limitations

• Log parsing: Depends on pattern matching; may miss unusual formats
• Scaling analysis: Requires at least 2 runs for meaningful results
• Memory estimation: Approximate; actual usage may vary
• Recommendations: General guidance; may need domain-specific tuning

References

• references/profiling_guide.md – Profiling concepts and interpretation
• references/optimization_strategies.md – Detailed optimization approaches

Version History

• v1.0.0 (2025-01-22): Initial release with 4 profiling scripts