Deterministic parallel random-number generation for dynamic-multithreading platforms

Abstract

Existing concurrency platforms for dynamic multithreading do not provide repeatable parallel random-number generators. This paper proposes that a mechanism called pedigrees be built into the runtime system to enable efficient deterministic parallel random-number generation. Experiments with the open-source MIT Cilk runtime system show that the overhead for maintaining pedigrees is negligible. Specifically, on a suite of 10 benchmarks, the relative overhead of Cilk with pedigrees to the original Cilk has a geometric mean of less than 1%.