From Business Analytics To Accelerator Clouds

Georgia Tech Research Corporation, Atlanta GA

Investigators

Abstract

This proposal seeks funding for the Center for Experimental Research in Computer Systems studies conducted by the Georgia Institute of Technology site (lead). Funding Requests for Fundamental Research are authorized by an NSF approved solicitation, NSF 10-507. The solicitation invites I/UCRCs to submit proposals for support of industry-defined fundamental research. Accelerator Clouds are evolving in response to enormous growth in business data and the impact of power consumption in data-centers and cloud systems. This program address the development of accelerator clouds equipped with high performance accelerators such as the new generation of graphics processing units (GPUs) used for general purpose computing. The development, deployment, and widespread adoption of accelerator clouds in the enterprise have intellectual and associated engineering challenges. This proposal includes a new domain specific intermediate representation, the kernel IR (intermediate representation) tailored to business data analytics applications. This model for IR is efficient for compilation of enterprise applications and powerful for driving the optimized compilation to a range of accelerator targets. It will ensure portability across a range of platforms. Also, it includes on-line program analysis techniques and transformations to optimize the execution on a range of hardware targets. The ability to leverage the GPU resources in the cloud can significantly improve many data-intensive and compute-intensive applications such as risk assessment for insurance companies. Given the experimental nature of the work, it is likely that the tools developed will be leveraged by the companies involved Logic Blox, IBM). The PIs intent to continue their active participation with CRA-W, and with students from Georgia Tech's Women Resource Center. The proposal gives convincing details of educational components and how they are linked to the proposed research. The proposers have a strong track record in integrating the proposed research in education. The industrial partners are convincingly involved in the proposed research (interest in the concepts, integrated education, internships).