MATLAB_REMOTE is a directory of information which discusses the use of remote computing with MATLAB.
The latest versions of MATLAB include a facility for preparing jobs and data on a desktop machine, and then submitting them for execution on a remote machine. The local copy of MATLAB is responsible for communicating with the remote machine, transferring files and data to the remote machine, setting up the appropriate job control language and submitting a job there, and then retrieving the results when the job is completed. In the meantime, the user can do other work, or turn off MATLAB, or in fact turn off the desktop computer and go home for a while!
There are a number of steps that must be taken to ensure that this remote job submission process works correctly. These steps are outlined in the document "Notes on Enabling Remote Submission of MATLAB Jobs".
In outline, these steps involve:
Once these steps are completed, you should try first to validate the ithaca_2009b configuration. Then you could go to the directory MATLAB_DISTCOMP and download the set of tests there. Then by typing the single command test_all, your local copy of MATLAB can send commands and data to ITHACA for processing there.
One issue is that certain MATLAB utility functions must be copied into the toolbox/local directory on the user's desktop machine. These scripts may be found lower down on this page.
BIRTHDAY_REMOTE, a MATLAB program which runs a Monte Carlo simulation of the birthday paradox, and includes instructions on how to run the job, via MATLAB's BATCH facility, on a remote system such as Virginia Tech's ITHACA cluster.
CELL_DETECTION_TASKS, a MATLAB program which creates modified versions of a sequence of gray-scale TIF files containing images of cells; the process of each file is carried out independently, using the "task" feature of MATLAB's parallel computing toolbox.
CG_DISTRIBUTED, a MATLAB program which implements a version of the NAS CG conjugate gradient benchmark, using distributed memory.
COLOR_REMOTE, a MATLAB program which carries out the color segmentation of an image in parallel, via SPMD commands; this includes instructions on how to run the job, via MATLAB's BATCH facility, on a remote system such as Virginia Tech's ITHACA cluster.
CONTRAST_SPMD, a MATLAB program which demonstrates the SPMD parallel programming feature for image operations; the client reads an image, the workers increase contrast over separate portions, and the client assembles and displays the results.
CONTRAST2_SPMD, a MATLAB program which demonstrates the SPMD parallel programming feature for image operations; this improves the contrast_spmd program by allowing the workers to share some data; this makes it possible to eliminate artificial "seams" in the processed image.
FD2D_HEAT_EXPLICIT_SPMD a MATLAB program which uses the finite difference method and explicit time stepping to solve the time dependent heat equation in 2D. A black and white image is used as the "initial condition". MATLAB's SPMD facility is used to carry out the computation in parallel.
FMINCON_PARALLEL, a MATLAB program which demonstrates the use of MATLAB's FMINCON constrained minimization function, taking advantage of MATLAB's Parallel Computing Toolbox for faster execution.
IMAGE_DENOISE_SPMD, a MATLAB program which demonstrates the SPMD parallel programming feature for image operations; the client reads an image, the workers process portions of it, and the client assembles and displays the results.
LYRICS_REMOTE, a MATLAB program which runs in parallel, using three workers which cooperate "systolically", that is, as through they were on an assembly line. The output from worker 1 is passed to worker 2 for further processing, and so on. This includes instructions on how to run the job, via MATLAB's BATCH facility, on a remote system such as Virginia Tech's ITHACA cluster.
MATLAB_DISTCOMP, a MATLAB program which remotely runs a set of 5 jobs on the Ithaca cluster. These jobs are equivalent to the BIRTHDAY_REMOTE, COLOR_REMOTE, KNAPSACK_REMOTE, LYRICS_REMOTE and MD_PARALLEL jobs.
MD_PARFOR, a MATLAB program which carries out a molecular dynamics simulation, running in parallel using MATLAB's "PARFOR" feature.
ODE_SWEEP_PARFOR, a MATLAB program which demonstrates how the PARFOR command can be used to parallelize the computation of a grid of solutions to a parameterized system of ODE's.
PLOT_SPMD, a MATLAB library which demonstrates the SPMD parallel programming feature, by having a number of labs compute parts of a sine plot, which is then displayed by the client process.
PRIME_PARFOR, a MATLAB program which counts the number of primes between 1 and N; running in parallel using MATLAB's "PARFOR" feature.
QUAD_PARFOR, a MATLAB program which estimates an integral using quadrature; running in parallel using MATLAB's "PARFOR" feature.
QUAD_TASKS, a MATLAB program which estimates an integral using quadrature; running in parallel using MATLAB's "TASK" feature.
RANDOM_WALK_2D_AVOID_TASKS, a MATLAB program which computes many self avoiding random walks in 2D by creating a job which defines each walk as a task, and then computes these independently using MATLAB's Parallel Computing Toolbox task computing capability.
SATISFY_PARFOR, a MATLAB program which demonstrates, for a particular circuit, an exhaustive search for solutions of the circuit satisfiability problem, running in parallel using MATLAB's "PARFOR" feature.
SUBSET_SUM_TASKS, a MATLAB program which solves a subset sum problem by exhaustive search, subdividing the search range among separate tasks.
The User's Guide for the Parallel Computing Toolbox is available at http://www.mathworks.com/access/helpdesk/help/pdf_doc/distcomp/distcomp.pdf
In order to carry out remote job submission, copies of the following functions and one shell script must be available on the user's local machine, in MATLAB's subdirectory toolbox/local.
You can go up one level to the MATLAB source codes.