On the usefulness of object tracking techniques in performance analysis

Abstract

Understanding the behavior of a parallel application is crucial if we are to tune it to achieve its maximum performance. Yet the behavior the application exhibits may change over time and depend on the actual execution scenario: particular inputs and program settings, the number of processes used, or hardware-specific problems. So beyond the details of a single experiment a far more interesting question arises: how does the application behavior respond to changes in the execution conditions?