[gmx-developers] Re: gromacs-4.0.4

David van der Spoel spoel at xray.bmc.uu.se
Tue Mar 17 19:37:08 CET 2009


Bernhard Bandow wrote:
> Dear developers,
> 
> During installing and testing gromacs4.0.4 together with its test suite
> a number of tests failed. Unfortunately playing around with compiler
> options, linking against different fft libraries as well as changing
> paramters in grompp.mdp files did not solve the problem - some tests
> still fail and I got stuck here.
> 
> Since other postings regarding the same topic are part of another
> mailing list I would like to put an abstract here.
> 
> i)The tests were run on one node of a linux cluster employing 8 cores.
>   Each node is a dual socket blade with two quad core cpus.
>   /proc/cpuinfo says:
> 
>   processor       : 0
>   vendor_id       : GenuineIntel
>   cpu family      : 6
>   model           : 23
>   model name      : Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU           E5472  @ 3.00GHz
>   stepping        : 6
>   cpu MHz         : 2992.496
>   cache size      : 6144 KB
>   physical id     : 0
>   siblings        : 4
>   core id         : 0
>   cpu cores       : 4
>   fpu             : yes
>   fpu_exception   : yes
>   cpuid level     : 10
>   wp              : yes
>   flags           : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge
>   mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm syscall
>   nx lm constant_tsc pni monitor ds_cpl vmx est tm2 cx16 xtpr dca
>   lahf_lm
>   bogomips        : 5990.08
>   clflush size    : 64
>   cache_alignment : 64
>   address sizes   : 38 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
>   power management:
> 
>   ... until processor 7
> 
>   The OS is SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 (x86_64), version 10,
>   patchlevel 2.
> 
> ii)Gromacs was compiled with Intel 11.0.069 compiler using mvapich2
>    Further options in configure were:
>    --enable-fortran

Can you please check whether fortran was actually used (in the md.log 
file), if so please turn it off and try again. Fortran is a lot slower 
than the handcoded SSE routines, which may also imply it has not been 
tested to the same degree.

>    --enable-mpi
>    --with-fft=mkl
>    --enable-shared
>    The system gromacs is intended to run on uses mpiexec to initiate
>    message passing. So gmxtest.pl was modified at line 31 to:
> 
>    $mdprefix = "mpiexec -np $parallel"
> 
>    In order to exclude details of compilation and linking the
>    optimisation level was then reduced until -O0, and the intel-mkl was
>    replaced by fftw3.1.2.
> 
> iii)As an example for failing tests in 'kernel' kernel020 fails with
>   /kernel020/checkvir.out  containing:
> 
>   LJ-14            step   0:      -63.1209,  step   0:      6.50742
>   Potential        step   0:      -321.601,  step   0:     -251.972
>   Kinetic En.      step   0:       15.0135,  step   0:      29.0739
>   Total Energy     step   0:      -306.588,  step   0:     -222.898
>   Temperature      step   0:       1.93226,  step   0:      3.74185
>   Pressure (bar)   step   0:      -3095.37,  step   0:     -2497.79
>   Vir-XX           step   0:       1127.45,  step   0:      1075.85
>   Vir-XY           step   0:        63.524,  step   0:      21.7773
>   Vir-XZ           step   0:      -264.813,  step   0:     -260.354
>   Vir-YX           step   0:       63.5241,  step   0:      21.7775
>   Vir-YY           step   0:       803.252,  step   0:      581.702
>   Vir-ZX           step   0:      -264.813,  step   0:     -260.355
>   Vir-ZZ           step   0:       321.207,  step   0:      176.574
> 
> The deviations are obvious.
> 
> I hope this helps to locate the reason for the tests to fail in order to
>  come to a set of tests that help to test installations of gromacs.
> 
> Best regards
> 
> Bernhard Bandow
> 
> David van der Spoel schrieb:
>> Bernhard Bandow wrote:
>>> Dear Prof. van der Spoel,
>>>
>>> as I have reported some days before we observe a number of tests in
>>> gromacs-4.0.4 failing. Those of the complex category can all be fixed if
>>> the hints to change parameters for electrostatics or thermostats.
>>> Reducing the Compiler optimisation to -O0 does additionally fix problems
>>> with two of the pbd2gmx tests. For the kernel tests we observe the same
>>> pattern of failing tests that were also reported elsewhere:
>>>
>>> Testing kernel020 . . . FAILED. Check files in kernel020
>>> Testing kernel120 . . . FAILED. Check files in kernel120
>>> Testing kernel121 . . . FAILED. Check files in kernel121
>>> Testing kernel122 . . . FAILED. Check files in kernel122
>>> Testing kernel123 . . . FAILED. Check files in kernel123
>>> Testing kernel124 . . . FAILED. Check files in kernel124
>>> Testing kernel220 . . . FAILED. Check files in kernel220
>>> Testing kernel221 . . . FAILED. Check files in kernel221
>>> Testing kernel222 . . . FAILED. Check files in kernel222
>>> Testing kernel223 . . . FAILED. Check files in kernel223
>>> Testing kernel224 . . . FAILED. Check files in kernel224
>>> Testing kernel320 . . . FAILED. Check files in kernel320
>>> Testing kernel321 . . . FAILED. Check files in kernel321
>>> Testing kernel322 . . . FAILED. Check files in kernel322
>>> Testing kernel323 . . . FAILED. Check files in kernel323
>>> Testing kernel324 . . . FAILED. Check files in kernel324
>>>
>>> Changing parameters in these cases is not successful. The situation
>>> remains even if the program is linked against fftw3.1.2 libraries
>>> instead of the intel mkl.
>>> As a scientist it think it is very imnportant to have a tool which
>>> functionality can be tested well in order to obtain results which can be
>>> trusted. For my own problems this of course also depends on my abilities
>>> in writing proper input.
>>> My concern at the HLRN is to provide knowledge for the users of our
>>> computing center how to install and run the installed software.
>>> Please tell me if or how I can contribute to a solution e.g. by testing
>>> or writing to people of the gromacs team without addressing only one
>>> person.
>>>
>> The best place is the gmx-developers list. You are also welcome to
>> submit a bugzilla.
>>
>> There were some rumors that the kernels fail in parallel, but not
>> sequentially but I haven't tested.
>>
>>
>>> Best regards
>>>
>>> Bernhard Bandow
> 
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-- 
David van der Spoel, Ph.D., Professor of Biology
Molec. Biophys. group, Dept. of Cell & Molec. Biol., Uppsala University.
Box 596, 75124 Uppsala, Sweden. Phone:	+46184714205. Fax: +4618511755.
spoel at xray.bmc.uu.se	spoel at gromacs.org   http://folding.bmc.uu.se



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