Problem-solving in High Performance Computing: A Situational Awareness Approach with Linux

by Igor Ljubuncic

Problem-Solving in High Performance Computing: A Situational Awareness Approach with Linux focuses on understanding giant computing grids as cohesive systems. Unlike other titles on general problem-solving or system administration, this book offers a cohesive approach to complex, layered environments, highlighting the difference between standalone system troubleshooting and complex problem-solving in large, mission critical environments, and addressing the pitfalls of information overload, micro, and macro symptoms, also including methods for managing problems in large computing ecosystems.

The authors offer perspective gained from years of developing Intel-based systems that lead the industry in the number of hosts, software tools, and licenses used in chip design. The book offers unique, real-life examples that emphasize the magnitude and operational complexity of high performance computer systems.

- Provides insider perspectives on challenges in high performance environments with thousands of servers, millions of cores, distributed data centers, and petabytes of shared data
- Covers analysis, troubleshooting, and system optimization, from initial diagnostics to deep dives into kernel crash dumps
- Presents macro principles that appeal to a wide range of users and various real-life, complex problems
- Includes examples from 24/7 mission-critical environments with specific HPC operational constraints

320 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2015

About the author

Igor Ljubuncic is a physicist by vocation and a Linux nerd by profession. Igor comes with 20+ years of experience in the tech industry, including medical, high-performance computing, data center, cloud, and hosting fields, with an emphasis on problem-solving and the scientific method. To date, Igor’s portfolio includes 15 patents, 21 books, several open-source projects, numerous publications in leading journals, presentations at prestigious international conferences, and awards for advocacy and literature.

When it comes to writing, Igor’s shelf covers technical books, novels across multiple genres, plus several anthologies, including the short story The Girl with the Flaxen Hair, nominated for the 2014 Sidewise Awards for Alternate History. Over the years, Igor’s other fiction works have received favorable reviews from Publishers Weekly, Underground Book Reviews, Midwest Book Review, and SFFWorld.

His technical book on problem-solving in high-performance computing is part of the computer science undergraduate studies curricula at several universities worldwide. It has also been translated to Mandarin.

In his free time, Igor runs a popular science and technology blog, www.dedoimedo.com, drives fast cars on racetracks, does mean impressions of celebrities, and sings in a wide range of languages, from Finnish to Old Norse to Albanian, Polish, Spanish, and many others.