[mpich-discuss] Query re getting started with MPICH in a Windows XP system

[Charles Lawson]

I have been using the MUMPS sparse matrix package on a single PC since July.
I am now trying to activate its parallel processing capability. MUMPS is
designed to use MPI for parallel processing, but the distributed
implementation of MUMPS does not include MPI. A member of the MUMPS
development team suggested that I obtain the MPICH implementation from
Argonne. I will initially be checking this out on two PC's connected via a
wireless network. These are 32-bit single-core PC's using the Windows XP
operating system. I am using the Intel Fortran and C/C++ Version 11
compilers. I am avoiding direct use of  "Visual Studio",  however it is
installed on one of the PC's.

I downloaded MPICH from the Argonne site. I have compiled and linked the
sample program, fpi.f, so I have an executable file, fpi.exe.  It seems that
to execute this program, I need to execute a command line of the form
   mpiexec ... fpi.exe
I don't know what is needed where the dots are. The only info I find about
the usage of mipexec is the "help" info that gives a list of options.
Without a more comprehensive description of the purpose and functionality of
mpiexec I have not been able to guess a good set of options. It seems to
want a user name and a password from me. I am the only user of these PC's so
I don't provide a user name or password when using them. I was given a
password, behappy, as part of the download of MPICH, but I haven't found a
way to provide that to mpiexec -- if that is what it wants.

I am not entirely new to the concept of using message passing on a
multiprocessor system. For about a year in the mid-1990's I developed
software for a science project on a Cray T3D, making use of the message
passing system provided with that machine. However, I have never had to
install a message passing system, and I am not accustomed to dealing with
system-level concepts, such as ports and channels and smpd.

I would appreciate guidance in moving forward from this stage to make use of
MPI.

(Last Thursday I briefly discussed my situation with Darius Buntinas of ANL
at the SC09 Conference in Portland, and he suggesting writing to
Mpich-discus would be the best way to reach someone knowledgeable about MPI
in a Windows XP environment.)

-- Chuck
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