Math 7924 – Readings in Computational Mathematics, Spring 2009

GPU Computing: Discovering CUDA

 

Jan Mandel

Textbook: none
Time and location:  Tuesday 12:00-1:00 CU 626

Office hours: CU 640 Thursday 1:00-2:00

Contact: Phone 303-556-4475, email jan.mandel@ucdenver.edu

1 credit hour, registration requires my signature, please see me no later than January 29

 

Discover the supercomputer in the NVIDIA graphics card! GPU stands for the "Graphics Processing Unit" and now "General Processing Unit". The processor in the graphics hardware has matured and is now much more powerful that the CPU. Harnessing this power requires a very special programming technique. Our projects will compete for the fastest time.

 

Objective: Learn the basics of CUDA computing on simple problems and a project of student’s choosing.

 

Grading: Each student will complete programming assignments and give presentations.

 

You can develop on your own computer if you have a contemporary Linux or Mac system. If your system has an NVIDIA card series 8 or higher, you can run CUDA on it. You can compile and run in the emulation mode for debugging in any case. Assignments will need to run on a server in the math lab.

 

Prerequisites: some programming in C/C++

 

Class schedule

 

·            January 27  - start

·            February – presentations on principles of CUDA computing, optimization of the simple finite difference code

·            March – competition for fastest finite difference code; presentations on sparse matrix techniques

·            April – student projects

·            May – final presentations on projects

 

Class materials: see the links page for presentations and a record of the class progress.

 

Software development rules

 

·            keep it simple

·            start from a working code and modify it to suit your needs

·            code everything at least three times

o   a simple clean version for reference (I am using Fortran, but C is OK)

o   a test C code that calls the same computational routines as your CUDA code

o   the actual  CUDA code, based on those same computational routines

·            validate: compare the numbers - wrong results computed fast are useless

·            benchmark: compare the times – how much faster is the CUDA version?

·            always check error return codes and default case

 

 

 

 

Spring 2009 CLAS Academic Policies

 

The following policies pertain to all students and are strictly adhered to by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS).

  • Every student MUST check and verify their schedule prior to the published drop/add deadlines.  Failure to verify a schedule is not sufficient reason to justify a late add or drop later in the semester.  It is the student’s responsibility to make sure that their schedule is correct prior to the appropriate deadlines.
  • CLAS students must use their email.cudenver.edu email address.  Email is the official method of communication for all University of Colorado Denver business.  All email correspondence will take place using your UCDHSC email address.  Go to http://www.cudenver.edu/registrar to update and/or change your email address.
  • Students are NOT automatically added to a course off a wait list after wait lists are dropped.  If a student is told by a faculty member that they will be added off the wait list, it is the responsibility of the student to complete the proper paperwork to add a course.
  • Students are not automatically notified if they are added to a class from a wait-list.  Again, it is the responsibility of the student to verify their schedule prior to any official dates to drop or add courses.
  • Students must complete and submit a drop/add form to make any schedule changes.  Students are not automatically dropped from a class if they never attended, stopped attending or do not make tuition payments.  
  • Late adds will be approved only when circumstances surrounding the late add are beyond the student’s control and can be documented independently.  This will require a petition and documentation from the student.  Late adds will only be approved if the student has not taken any exams, quizzes, or has not completed any other graded assignments.  Independent verification of this from the professor of record will be required.  Please note that the signature of a faculty member on an add form does not guarantee that a late add petition will be approved.  Petitions are available in NC 4011.
  • Late drops will be approved only when circumstances surrounding the late drop have arisen after the published drop deadlines, are beyond the student’s control, and can be documented independently.  This will require a petition and documentation from the student.  Pre-existing circumstances (circumstances that existed prior to the published drop deadlines) regarding illness, work, family, or other confounding issues will not be considered adequate reason to drop or withdraw from courses after the published University and/or College drop deadlines.  Please note that the signature of a faculty member does not guarantee that a late drop petition will be approved.  Petitions are available in NC 4011.
  • Undergraduate students wishing to graduate in spring of 2009 must meet with their academic advisor by the end of the drop/add period to obtain a graduation application.  This application must be completed and submitted by 5 PM on February 4, 2009.  You can obtain an application ONLY after meeting with your academic advisor. There are no exceptions to this policy or date.
  • Graduate students wishing to graduate in spring semester 2009 must complete their Intent to Graduate form and have a Request for Admissions to Candidacy on file with the CLAS Dean’s office no later than 5 PM, February 4, 2009.
  • Students are responsible for completing financial arrangements with financial aid, family, scholarships, etc. to pay their tuition.  Students will be responsible for all tuition and fees for courses they do not officially drop using proper drop/add procedures and forms. 

Students who drop after the published drop/add period will not be eligible for a refund of the COF hours or tuition.

Important Dates

 

  • January 20, 2009: First day of Class
  • January 25, 2009: Last day to be added to a wait list using the SMART system.
  • January 25, 2009: Last day to add a course using the SMART system.
  • January 27-February 4, 2009: Students are responsible for verifying an accurate spring 2009 course schedule via the SMART registration system.  Students are NOT notified of their wait-list status by the university.  All students must check their scheduled prior to February 4, 2009 for accuracy.
  • January 26, 2009: LAST DAY TO DROP WITHOUT DROP CHARGE – THIS INCLUDES SECTION CHANGES.
  • January 26, 2009: Wait Lists are dropped.  Any student who was not added to a course automatically from the wait list by this date and time MUST complete a drop/add form to be added to the class.  Students are NOT automatically added to the class from the wait list after this date and time.  If your name is not on the official student roster, you are not registered for the course.
  • January 27, 2009: First day instructor may approve request to add a student to a full course with a Schedule Adjustment Form.
  • February 4, 2009 at 5 PM: Last day to add structured courses without a written petition for a late add.  This is an absolute deadline and is treated as such. This deadline does not apply to independent study, internships, project hours, thesis hours, dissertation hours, and late-starting modular courses.
  • February 4, 2009 at 5 PM: Last day to drop a spring 2009 course with a tuition adjustment minus the drop charge and no transcript notation – this includes section changes.  Drops after this date will appear on your transcript.  This is an absolute deadline and is treated as such.
  • February 4, 2009 at 5 PM: Last day to completely withdraw from all spring 2009 courses with a tuition adjustment and no transcript notation. Drop charge applies. Drops after this date will appear on your transcript.  This is an absolute deadline and is treated as such.
  • February 4, 2009 at 5 PM: Last day to request pass/fail option for a course.
  • February 4, 2009 at 5 PM: Last day to request a no credit option for a course.
  • February 4, 2009 at 5 PM: Last day to register for a Candidate for Degree.
  • February 4, 2009 at 5 PM: Last day to petition for a reduction in thesis or dissertation hours.
  • February 4, 2009 at 5 PM: Last day to apply for spring 2009 graduation.  You must make an appointment and see your academic advisor before this date to apply for graduation.
  • February 16-25: Faculty can use the early alert system.
  • April 6, 2009 at 5 PM: Last day for non CLAS students to drop or withdraw from all classes without a petition and special approval from the student’s academic Dean.  This is treated as an absolute deadline.
  • March 23-29, 2009: Spring Break.
  • April 20, 2009 at 5 PM: Last day for CLAS students to drop or withdraw from all classes without a petition and special approval from the student’s academic Dean. Students still need signatures from the faculty and Dean.  This is treated as an absolute deadline.
  • After April 20, 2009 all schedule changes require a petition.  Petitions are available in NC 4011.
  • No schedule changes will be granted once finals week has started.  There are NO exceptions to this policy.