MCNP load balancing and fault tolerance with PVM

Version 4A of the Monte Carlo neutron, photon, and electron transport code MCNP, developed by LANL (Los Alamos National Laboratory), supports distributed-memory multiprocessing through the software package PVM (Parallel Virtual Machine, version 3.1.4). Using PVM for interprocessor communication, MCNP can simultaneously execute a single problem on a cluster of UNIX-based workstations. This capability provided system efficiencies that exceeded 80% on dedicated workstation clusters, however, on heterogeneous or multiuser systems, the performance was limited by the slowest processor (i.e., equal work was assigned to each processor). The next public release of MCNP will provide multiprocessing enhancements that include load balancing and fault tolerance which are shown to dramatically increase multiuser system efficiency and reliability