Parallel Environment for AIX 5L V4.1
Operation and Use, Vol 1

PE Version 4.1 migration information

This section is intended for customers migrating from earlier releases of PE to PE 4.1. It contains specific information on some differences between earlier releases that you need to consider prior to installing and using PE 4.1. To find out which release of PE you currently have installed, use the command:

lslpp -ha ppe.poe

AIX compatibility

PE 4.1 commands and applications are compatible with AIX 5L Version 5.2 or later only, and not with earlier versions of AIX.

MPI library support

PE 4.1 provides support for its threaded version of the MPI library only. A non-threaded (or signal-based) library is also shipped, and its symbols are exported from the threaded library for binary compatibility.

Existing applications built as non-threaded applications will execute as single threaded applications in the PE 4.1 environment. Users and application developers should understand the implications of their programs running as threaded applications, as described in the IBM Parallel Environment 4.1 MPI Programming Guide.

MPL support discontinued

Support for the Message Passing Library (MPL) and applications that call MPL functions is completely discontinued. Application programs containing MPL function calls must be rewritten and recompiled to remove or replace them with equivalent MPI function calls. There is no binary compatibility for any applications with MPL calls.

LAPI support

LAPI is now shipped as part of RSCT, in the rsct.lapi.rte fileset. The LAPI libraries found in previous versions of POE have been removed and are now packaged as part of RSCT, or as part of PSSP when running on an SP.

Additionally, MPI uses LAPI as a common transport protocol. Users and application developers may need to understand this relationship, as described in the IBM Parallel Environment 4.1 MPI Programming Guide, and the IBM RSCT for AIX 5L: LAPI Programming Guide.

POE compiler scripts

POE no longer provides the non-threaded versions of its compiler scripts, mpcc, mpCC, and mpxlf. New and recompiled applications must now be built with the threaded MPI and LAPI libraries. Symbolic links are provided for compatibility, however the links result in the use of the threaded compilation scripts (mpcc_r, mpCC_r, mpxlf_r, etc.) when compiling programs.

Binary compatibility is supported for existing applications that have been dynamically linked or created with the non-threaded compiler scripts from previous versions of POE. There is no binary compatibility for statically bound executables. There is no support in PE 4.1 for statically bound executables.

Xprofiler now part of AIX

The Xprofiler graphical profiling tool found in previous versions of PE has been relocated to AIX. The ppe.xprofiler fileset is no longer shipped with PE.

Program Marker Array removed

The Program Marker Array function from previous releases of PE has been completely removed in PE 4.1. The symbols for the marker array functions, mpc_marker/mp_marker and mpc_nlights/mp_nlights remain in PE 4.1 to allow binary compatibility of existing applications, however these functions are no longer executed. The MP_PMLIGHTS/-pmlights and MP_USRPORT/-usrport POE options are no longer available and customers should remove them from execution scripts and command files.

Also, the pmarray command and Program Marker Array sample programs should not be used, if they were installed or saved from previous PE versions.

Obsolete POE environment variables and options

The following are obsolete:

• MP_EUIDEVICE/-euidevice value of css1
• MP_INTRDELAY
• MP_SYNC_ON_CONNECT
• MP_PIPE_SIZE
• MP_ACK_INTERVAL