Report Number: CS-TR-91-1351
Institution: Stanford University, Department of Computer Science
Title: Sequence vs. pipeline parallel multiple joins in Paradata
Author: Z hu, Liping
Author: Keller, Arthur M.
Author: Wiederhold, Gio
Date: February 1991
Abstract: In this report we analyze and compare hash-join based parallel multi-join algorithms for sequenced and pipelined processing. The BBN Butterfly machine serves as the host for the performance analysis. The sequenced algorithm handles the multiple join operations in a conventional sequenced manner, except that it distributes the work load of each operation among all processors. The pipelined algorithms handle the different join operations in parallel, by dividing the processors into several groups, with the data flowing through these groups. The detailed timing tests revealed the bus/memory contention that grows linearly with the number of processors. The existence of such a contention leads to an optimal region for the number of processors, given the join operands fixed. We present the analytical and experimental formulae for both algorithms, which incorporate this contention. We discuss the way of finding an optimal point, and give the heuristics for choosing the best processor's partition in pipelined processing. The study shows that the pipelined algorithms produce the first joined result sooner than the sequenced algorithm and need less memory to store the intermediate result. The sequenced algorithm, on the other hand, takes less time to finish the whole join operations.
http://i.stanford.edu/pub/cstr/reports/cs/tr/91/1351/CS-TR-91-1351.pdf