Exploring model parallelism in distributed scheduling of neural network frameworks
type: CreativeWork
description: The growth in size and computational requirements in training Neural Networks (NN) over the past few years has led to an increase in their sizes. In many cases, the networks can grow so large that can no longer ﬁt on a single machine. A model parallel approach, backed by partitioning of Neural Networks and placement of operators on devices in a distributed system, provides a better distributed solution to this problem. In this thesis, we motivate the case for device placement in Neural Networks. We propose, analyze and evaluate mSCT, a polynomial time algorithmic solution to this end. Additionally, we formulate an exponential time optimal ILP solution that models the placement problem. We summarize our contributions as: 1. We propose a theoretical solution to the memory constrained placement problem with makespan and approximation ratio guarantees. 2. We compare and contrast m-SCT with other state of the art scheduling algorithms in a simulation environment and show that it consistently performs well on real world graphs across a variety of network bandwidths and memory constraints. 3. We lay the foundation for the experimental evaluation of the proposed solutions in existing Machine Learning frameworks.
abstract: The growth in size and computational requirements in training Neural Networks (NN) over the past few years has led to an increase in their sizes. In many cases, the networks can grow so large that can no longer ﬁt on a single machine. A model parallel approach, backed by partitioning of Neural Networks and placement of operators on devices in a distributed system, provides a better distributed solution to this problem. In this thesis, we motivate the case for device placement in Neural Networks. We propose, analyze and evaluate mSCT, a polynomial time algorithmic solution to this end. Additionally, we formulate an exponential time optimal ILP solution that models the placement problem. We summarize our contributions as: 1. We propose a theoretical solution to the memory constrained placement problem with makespan and approximation ratio guarantees. 2. We compare and contrast m-SCT with other state of the art scheduling algorithms in a simulation environment and show that it consistently performs well on real world graphs across a variety of network bandwidths and memory constraints. 3. We lay the foundation for the experimental evaluation of the proposed solutions in existing Machine Learning frameworks.
author: Srivastava, Pallavi
language: en
keywords: model parallelism
date published: 2018-09-27T16:18:03Z
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:24:40Z
provider: University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/2142/101625