Optimizing I/O Performance in High-Performance Computing Systems

High-Performance Computing (HPC) systems are engineered to tackle intricate computational tasks that demand substantial processing capabilities across various sectors such as scientific simulations, weather forecasting, and data analytics. However, as HPC applications grow in scale and intricacy, significant challenges emerge in the management of data flow between storage units and computational resources, highlighting weaknesses particularly in I/O operations. These operations, which include extensive data reading and writing processes, are pivotal for minimizing transfer times, alleviating storage bottlenecks, and optimizing overall system performance. Given the expanding disparity between computing power and I/O efficiency, enhancing I/O operation becomes increasingly critical.

This Research Topic focuses on the essential challenges and progressive solutions involved in optimizing I/O performance specific to HPC environments. A key aspect of this challenge is the prediction and understanding of I/O behaviors, which are vital for crafting effective optimization strategies. HPC systems produce extensive log data that records the I/O dynamics of applications, which researchers use to devise predictive models and analytics techniques. These models help foresee I/O demands and adjust system configurations preemptively. Furthermore, the pursuit of autotuning I/O performance introduces adaptive mechanisms that tailor I/O settings and configurations in response to the distinct demands and features of varying HPC workloads, aiming to boost efficiency and cut down I/O bottlenecks.

This collection invites a broad range of studies on the advances in I/O performance optimization tailored for HPC systems, considering the unique challenges posed by HPC applications. We are particularly interested in contributions that cover:

I/O performance tuning techniques.
Design and analysis of I/O-intensive applications.
Characterization and management of parallel I/O systems.
Innovative I/O architecture designs and evaluations.
Enhancements in run-time libraries and parallel file systems. Such contributions will aid in refining the performance of HPC systems, ensuring that computational resources are utilized efficiently and effectively.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Parallel I/O, High-Performance Computing, Performance Optimization, I/O library, Parallel File System.

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.