[Online] Practical Roofline Analysis by Example

Monday 20 Jul 2026, 09:00 → 17:00 Europe/Berlin

Online

Practical Roofline Analysis by Example

Schedule & Format

• Date: 2026, July 20
• Time: 9:00 - 17:00 CE(S)T
• Format: Full-day
• Location: Online via Zoom
• Language: English

Registered participants will receive the video conferencing link via email on the day before the course.

Instructors

• Dr. Georg Hager, NHR@FAU
• Thomas Gruber, NHR@FAU
• Jan Laukemann, NHR@FAU

This course is organized by Erlangen National High Performance Computing Center (NHR@FAU).

Course Description

The Roofline model is arguably the simplest but also the most successful performance model in High Performance Computing. Using some assumptions about a code and the hardware it is running on, it allows to calculate an upper limit for the performance of a loop. This makes it an indispensable analysis device: Comparing the expected upper limit with the actual performance, hardware bottlenecks and deficiencies in the code can be identified, which points to optimization opportunities.

Although several tools exist that can help with Roofline analysis on CPUs and GPUs, the Roofline model requires a basic understanding of computer architecture, code execution, and hardware bottlenecks to be useful. This tutorial provides the necessary knowledge, backed up by case studies and hands-on exercises, to let participants use the Roofline model as a powerful, scientifically well-founded analysis tool for CPU and GPU code. We also point out the strengths and weaknesses of various performance tools and how they can be of use in different scenarios and for different groups of developers and analysts.

Prerequisites

• A modern web browser (for JupyterHub access to NHR@FAU's HPC clusters)

Course Structure

• Compute node architecture and bottlenecks - CPUs and GPUs
• Thinking in rooflines: code and machine characterization
• Hardware performance counters and profiling tools
• Case studies and examples: Sparse MVM, CG solver, molecular dynamics proxy app, lattice-Boltzmann code

Registration, Wait List and Withdrawal Policy

Registration

Please register at the bottom of this page. Registration is open until a few days before the course starts, or until the course is fully booked.

Prices and Eligibility

This course is open and free of charge for participants affiliated with academic institutions in European Union (EU) member states and Horizon 2020-associated countries.

Wait List

If the course reaches its maximum capacity, you can request to join the wait list by sending an email to nhr-training@fau.de. Please include your name and university affiliation in the message.

Withdrawal Policy

Please only register if you are committed to attending the course. No-shows will be blacklisted and excluded from future events.

If you need to withdraw your registration, please either cancel it directly through the registration system or send an email to nhr-training@fau.de.

Additional Courses

You can find an up-to-date list of all courses offered by NHR@FAU at https://hpc.fau.de/teaching/tutorials-and-courses/.