Abstract:

F. Dehne, W. Dittrich, D. Hutchinson, A. Maheshwari, “Bulk synchronous parallel algorithms for the external memory model”, Theory of Computing Systems, Vol. 35 Issue 6, 2002, pp. 567-598.
 

Blockwise access to data is a central theme in the design of efficient external memory (EM) algorithms.Asecond important issue, when more than one disk is present, is fully parallel disk I/O. In this paper we present a simple, deterministic simulation technique which transforms certain Bulk Synchronous Parallel (BSP) algorithms into efficient parallel EM algorithms. It optimizes blockwise data access

and parallel disk I/O and, at the same time, utilizes multiple processors connected via a communication network or shared memory. We obtain new improved parallel EM algorithms for a large number of problems including sorting, permutation, matrix transpose, several geometric and GIS problems including three-dimensional convex hulls (two-dimensional Voronoi diagrams), and various graph problems.We

show that certain parallel algorithms known for the BSP model can be used to obtain EM algorithms that meet well known I/O complexity lower bounds for various problems, including sorting.