{"id":504,"date":"2016-02-17T13:14:12","date_gmt":"2016-02-17T13:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.noisemap.ltd.uk\/wpress\/?page_id=504"},"modified":"2018-11-08T22:37:35","modified_gmt":"2018-11-08T22:37:35","slug":"multiple-processing","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.noisemap.ltd.uk\/wpress\/features\/multiple-processing\/","title":{"rendered":"Multiple processing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Multi-core support<\/strong>
\nNoiseMap can, as an option, fully utilise computers that have any number of cores or processors.\u00a0 The extra cores are used during noise contour or receiver calculations. Typically, a quad-core processor can obtain a 5-times speedup over a single-core machine, and this can do away with the need for distributed computing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Multiple instances<\/strong>
\nNoiseMap can, as a further option, allow multiple instances of NoiseMap to be run simultaneously in the same machine.\u00a0 This lets you compare two models or scenarios side-by-side, or to transfer models between databases. It is not intended to speed up calculations as the resources of the computer would simply be shared between the instances, which could cause input\/output bottlenecks and might slow down the throughput.<\/p>\n

Multi-core computers<\/h6>\n

Most Intel and AMD central processor chips used in\u00a0the current (2019) generation \u00a0PCs have multiple cores – in essence this means they are like several independent computers built into one chip.\u00a0 This is useful if you want to multi-task several independent programs – such as running a word processor, spreadsheet and web-browser simultaneously, as each one can be allocated to its own core.\u00a0 This is done automatically by the Windows operating system.<\/p>\n

But for a single program to take advantage of a multi-core processor, the computing task needs to be divided into separate tasks that can be run in parallel.\u00a0\u00a0In other words,\u00a0\u00a0the tasks must be run at the same time without interfering with each other, or indeed without causing new bottlenecks which could slow things down and lose any advantage of the multi-tasking.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 There are many complex issues in doing this successfully, but these have been resolved by NoiseMap, to the extent that a quad-core processor can bring about a five times speedup in processing of calculations.\u00a0 This is because some of the\u00a0necessary preliminary analysis\u00a0performed by\u00a0NoiseMap\u00a0used by all\u00a0the processors – thus\u00a0reducing the overhead.<\/p>\n

In simple terms,\u00a0the latest (9th) generation of Intel Core i3\u00a0\u00a0processors for desktop use\u00a0have four cores, i5and i7 processors have six cores, and i9 processors offer up to eighteen cores.\u00a0 Clock speed is also important and the newer processors have\u00a0a turbo-boost mode\u00a0to 4.7 GHz.<\/p>\n

What is the best option?\u00a0 A fast clock speed, memory and disk are the first requirement.\u00a0 Heat generation is a limitation on clock speed, meaning that multi-core chips can\u00a0usually run at maximum\u00a0when utilising one core, but may have\u00a0to use less boost when using many cores.\u00a0Thus, when choosing a multi-core computer, ensure that it has an efficient cooling system to maintain high clock speeds\u00a0over long time periods.<\/p>\n

Much will depend on your model size and the amount of design work that you need to do.\u00a0 For intensive projects, the choice\u00a0could be\u00a0between having several cheaper computers collaborating on a task, or having one multi-processor computer.<\/p>\n

At the current time, it makes sense to buy\u00a0preferably a six-core machine. \u00a0 You will need to buy a NoiseMap licence that lets you run the six-core version. If you have to calculate contours for very\u00a0large areas, then you may prefer to have the ‘remote server’ version of NoiseMap which allows many separate computers to share the processing load.\u00a0The extra cost\u00a0of setting up the server is certainly justified for a medium to large organisation, but a small organisation may prefer to keep things simple by using the ‘standalone database’\u00a0version of NoiseMap with a six-core processor such as the Intel Core-i5-8500 running at 3.0 GHz, with 4.1 GHz turbo.\u00a0 A quality machine can be had with this processor for around GBP 700 plus VAT (not including the peripherals.)<\/p>\n

A machine with the specification could easily host the database server as well, in which case you could take advantage of the ability to add queue calculations to be done in the background.\u00a0 By additionally running within this machine a parallel ‘instance’ of NoiseMap that was permanently listening to the calculation queue, calculations could take place in the background\u00a0without any disruption to your main design work.<\/p>\n

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Multi-core support NoiseMap can, as an option, fully utilise computers that have any number of cores or processors.\u00a0 The extra cores are used during noise contour or receiver calculations. Typically, a quad-core processor can obtain a 5-times speedup over a single-core machine, and this can do away with the need for distributed computing. Multiple instances … Continue reading Multiple processing<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":12,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.noisemap.ltd.uk\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/504"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.noisemap.ltd.uk\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.noisemap.ltd.uk\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.noisemap.ltd.uk\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.noisemap.ltd.uk\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=504"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/www.noisemap.ltd.uk\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/504\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":862,"href":"http:\/\/www.noisemap.ltd.uk\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/504\/revisions\/862"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.noisemap.ltd.uk\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.noisemap.ltd.uk\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}