Overcoming the I/O Bottleneck Using Sub-Zone Load on Demand (SZL)

Speaker: Scott Imlay and Scott Fowler, Tecplot Inc.
March 3, 2016

Presentation

Abstract

Disk I/O performance is not keeping up with the growth in CFD grid size. The disk, therefore, has become the limiting factor in CFD visualization and post-processing speed. SZL technology has been developed to overcome this bottleneck. SZL breaks the volume domain into indexed sub-zones and selectively loads only the sub-zones required for the post-processing being performed, dramatically reducing load times and memory required. This talk will present the motivations and technology behind SZL. It will also offer techniques for converting your data to SZL format, including how to write SZL, in parallel, directly from a solver using the TECIO-MPI library.

Biography

As CTO, Scott Imlay manages Tecplot’s Research team. Imlay has developed CFD codes under contract from NASA, DARPA, NSF and other federal agencies and managed the development of Tecplot’s flagship visualization software. He is currently managing the SZL development team and working on research related to post-processing extremely large datasets.

As Product Manager, Scott Fowler sets the direction for Tecplot 360 EX and Tecplot Chorus. In his 16 years he has held many positions, starting as a developer, moving into product architecture and, in 2015, he took over as product manager. Fowler has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington.

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