This paper describes an integrated graphicM toolset for performance-oriented design of portable parallel software. The toolset consists of a graphical design tool based on the PVM communications library for building parallel algorithms, a simulation engine and a visualisation tool for animation of program execution and visualisation of platform and network performance measures and statistics. The toolset is used to model a virtual machine composed of a cluster of workstations interconnected by a local area network. The simulation model used is modular and its components are interchangeable which allows easy reconfiguration of the platform. The model is validated using experiments on the COMMS1 Benchmark from the Parkbench suite, and a standard image processing algorithm with accuracy to within 10%.

In this papel; we discuss the problem of developing performance-oriented software and the need for methodologies. We then present the EDPEPPS (Environment for Design and Performance Evaluation of Portable Parallel Software) approach to the problem of designing and evaluating high-performance (parallel) applications. The ED-PEPPS toolset is based on a rapid prototyping philosophy, where the designer synthesises a model of the intended software which may be simulated, and thepe@ormance is subsequently analysed using visualisation. The toolset combines a graphical design tool, a simulation facility, and a visualisation tool. The same design is used to produce a code suitable for simulation and real execution.