How make data transfer between host and device more faster? - opencl

I am coding some program and i need to perform some data transfer repeatedly between host and device. I will try to minimize best i can, but is there any faster way to perform this? Here, array copied to the device is changing on each iteration, hence device needs to be updated with the new array values. Any suggestions/pointers/help will be appreciated.
for (i = 0; i <= SEVERALCALLS; i++) {
wrtBuffer = clCreateBuffer(context, CL_MEM_READ_WRITE | CL_MEM_ALLOC_HOST_PTR, sizeof(double) * num, NULL, &ret);
if (ret != 0) {
printf("clCreateBuffer wrtBuffer error: %d. couldn't load\n", ret);
exit(1);
}
// update cti array
ret = clEnqueueWriteBuffer(command_queue, wrtBuffer, CL_TRUE, 0, sizeof(double) * num, cti, 0, NULL, NULL);
if (ret != 0) {
printf("clEnqueueWriteBuffer wrtBuffer error: %d. couldn't load\n", ret);
exit(1);
}
// NDRange Kernel call
ret = clEnqueueReadBuffer(command_queue, readBuffer, CL_TRUE, 0, sizeof(double) * num, newcti, 0, NULL, NULL);
if (ret != 0) {
printf("clEnqueueReadBuffer readBuffer error: %d. couldn't load\n", ret);
exit(1);
}
}

Three ways to optimize this:
On integrated GPU (like Intel or AMD APU) use "zero copy" buffers so you won't pay for any transfers.
On NVIDIA use pinned host memory for the host-side memory source for clEnqueueWriteBuffer or receive buffer for clEnqueueReadBuffer. This will be faster than using normal malloc memory and won't block.
Overlap transfer and compute. Use three command queues, one for upload, one for compute, and one for download, and use events to ensure dependencies. See NVIDIA's example: oclCopyComputeOverlap (although it is suboptimal; it can go slightly faster than they say it can).

Related

How do I pass an array to an OpenCL kernel?

I have an array which I want pass to an OpenCL kernel. Part of my code is
cl_mem arr_cl;
unsigned int arr[4] = { 0 };
arr_cl = clCreateBuffer(ocl.context, CL_MEM_ALLOC_HOST_PTR, 4*sizeof(unsigned int), NULL, &status);
arr = (unsigned int*)clEnqueueMapBuffer(ocl.command_queue, arr_cl, CL_TRUE, CL_MAP_READ | CL_MAP_WRITE, 0, 4*sizeof(unsigned int), 0, NULL, NULL, NULL);
status |= clSetKernelArg(ocl.kernel, 0, sizeof(cl_mem), &(arr_cl));
The above code compiles but crashes during run time. Please let me know what I'm doing wrong here.
I am using OpenCL 2.0.
source: https://www.khronos.org/registry/OpenCL/sdk/2.1/docs/man/xhtml/clEnqueueMapBuffer.html
CL_MAP_READ or CL_MAP_WRITE and CL_MAP_WRITE_INVALIDATE_REGION are
mutually exclusive.
you should only read or only write within a mapping if opencl version >=1.2.
Also when changing alloc_host_ptr to use_host_ptr, the array should be aligned to CL_DEVICE_MEM_BASE_ADDR_ALIGN value/query.

Copying global on-device pointer address back and forth between device and host

I created a buffer on the OpenCL device (a GPU), and from the host I need to know the global on-device pointer address so that I can put that on-device address in another buffer so that the kernel can then read from that buffer that contains the address of the first buffer so that then it can access the contents of that buffer.
If that's confusing here's what I'm trying to do: I create a generic floats-containing buffer representing a 2D image, then from the host I create a todo list of all the things my kernel needs to draw, which lines, which circles, which images... So from that list the kernel has to know where to find that image, but the reference to that image cannot be passed as a kernel argument, because that kernel might draw no image, or a thousand different images, all depending on what the list says, so it has to be referenced in that buffer that serves as a todo list for my kernel.
The awkward way I've done it so far:
To do so I tried making a function that calls a kernel after the creation of the image buffer that gets the buffer and returns the global on-device address as a ulong in another buffer, then the host stores that value in a 64-bit integer, like this:
uint64_t get_clmem_device_address(clctx_t *clctx, cl_mem buf)
{
const char kernel_source[] =
"kernel void get_global_ptr_address(global void *ptr, global ulong *devaddr) \n"
"{ \n"
" *devaddr = (ulong) ptr; \n"
"} \n";
int32_t i;
cl_int ret;
static int init=1;
static cl_program program;
static cl_kernel kernel;
size_t global_work_size[1];
static cl_mem ret_buffer;
uint64_t devaddr;
if (init)
{
init=0;
ret = build_cl_program(clctx, &program, kernel_source);
ret = create_cl_kernel(clctx, program, &kernel, "get_global_ptr_address");
ret_buffer = clCreateBuffer(clctx->context, CL_MEM_WRITE_ONLY, 1*sizeof(uint64_t), NULL, &ret);
}
if (kernel==NULL)
return ;
// Run the kernel
ret = clSetKernelArg(kernel, 0, sizeof(cl_mem), &buf);
ret = clSetKernelArg(kernel, 1, sizeof(cl_mem), &ret_buffer);
global_work_size[0] = 1;
ret = clEnqueueNDRangeKernel(clctx->command_queue, kernel, 1, NULL, global_work_size, NULL, 0, NULL, NULL); // enqueue the kernel
ret = clEnqueueReadBuffer(clctx->command_queue, ret_buffer, CL_FALSE, 0, 1*sizeof(uint64_t), &devaddr, 0, NULL, NULL); // copy the value
ret = clFlush(clctx->command_queue);
clFinish(clctx->command_queue);
return devaddr;
}
Apparently this works (it does return a number, although it's hard to know if it's correct), but then I put this devaddr (a 64-bit integer on the host) in the todo list buffer that the kernel uses to know what to do, and then if necessary (according to the list) the kernel calls the function below, le here being a pointer to the relevant entry in the todo list, and the 64-bit address being the first element:
float4 blit_sprite(global uint *le, float4 pv)
{
const int2 p = (int2) (get_global_id(0), get_global_id(1));
ulong devaddr;
global float4 *im;
int2 im_dim;
devaddr = ((global ulong *) le)[0]; // global address for the start of the image as a ulong
im_dim.x = le[2];
im_dim.y = le[3];
im = (global float4 *) devaddr; // ulong is turned into a proper global pointer
if (p.x < im_dim.x)
if (p.y < im_dim.y)
pv += im[p.y * im_dim.x + p.x]; // this gives me a CL_OUT_OF_RESOURCES error, even when changing it to im[0]
return pv;
}
but big surprise this doesn't work, it gives me a CL_OUT_OF_RESOURCES error, which I assume means my im pointer isn't valid. Actually it works, it didn't work when I used two different contexts. But it's still pretty unwieldy.
Is there a less weird way to do what I want to do?
OpenCL standard doesn't guarantee that memory objects will not be physically reallocated between kernel calls. So, original Device-side address is valid only within single kernel NDRange. That's one of the reasons why OpenCL memory objects are represented on Host side as transparent structure pointers.
Though, you can save offset to memory object's first byte in 1st kernel and pass it to 2nd kernel. Every time you launch your kernel, you will obtain actual Device-side address within your kernel & increment it by saved shift value. That would be perfectly "legal".

Reading an external kernel in OpenCL

I have the following lines of code which I use to first determine the file size of the .cl file I am reading from (and loading into a buffer), and subsequently building my program and kernel from the buffer. Assuming calculate.cl contains a simple vector addition kernel.
//get size of kernel source
FILE *f = fopen("calculate.cl", "r");
fseek(f, 0, SEEK_END);
size_t programSize = ftell(f);
rewind(f);
//load kernel into buffer
char *programBuffer = (char*)malloc(programSize + 1);
programBuffer[programSize] = '\0';
fread(programBuffer, sizeof(char), programSize, f);
fclose(f);
//create program from buffer
cl_program program = clCreateProgramWithSource(context, 1, (const char**) &programBuffer, &programSize, &status);
//build program for devices
status = clBuildProgram(program, numDevices, devices, NULL, NULL, NULL);
//create the kernel
cl_kernel calculate = clCreateKernel(program, "calculate", &status);
However, when I run my program, the output produced is zero instead of the intended vector addition results. I've verified that the problem is not to do with the kernel itself (I used a different method to load an external kernel which worked and gave me the intended results) however I am still curious as to why this initial method I attempted did not work.
Any help?
the problem's been solved.
following bl0z0's suggestion and looking up the error, I've found the solution here:
OpenCL: Expected identifier in kernel
thanks everyone :D I really appreciate it!
I believe this gives the programing size in terms of the number of chars:
size_t programSize = ftell(f);
and here you need to allocate in terms of bytes:
char *programBuffer = (char*)malloc(programSize + 1);
so I think that previous line should be
char *programBuffer = (char*)malloc(programSize * sizeof(char) + 1);
Double check this by just printing the programBuffer.

Base Address of Memory Object OpenCL

I want to traverse a tree at GPU with OpenCL, so i assemble the tree in a contiguous block at host and i change the addresses of all pointers so as to be consistent at device as follows:
TreeAddressDevice = (size_t)BaseAddressDevice + ((size_t)TreeAddressHost - (size_t)BaseAddressHost);
I want the base address of the memory buffer:
At host i allocate memory for the buffer, as follows:
cl_mem tree_d = clCreateBuffer(...);
The problem is that cl_mems are objects that track an internal representation of the data. Technically they're pointers to an object, but they are not pointers to the data. The only way to access a cl_mem from within a kernel is to pass it in as an argument via setKernelArgs.
Here http://www.proxya.net/browse.php?u=%3A%2F%2Fwww.khronos.org%2Fmessage_boards%2Fviewtopic.php%3Ff%3D37%26amp%3Bt%3D2900&b=28 i found the following solution, but it doesnot work:
__kernel void getPtr( __global void *ptr, __global void *out )
{
*out = ptr;
}
that can be invoked as follows
Code:
...
cl_mem auxBuf = clCreateBuffer( context, CL_MEM_READ_WRITE, sizeof(void*), NULL, NULL );
void *gpuPtr;
clSetKernelArg( getterKernel, 0, sizeof(cl_mem), &myBuf );
clSetKernelArg( getterKernel, 1, sizeof(cl_mem), &auxBuf );
clEnqueueTask( commandQueue, getterKernel, 0, NULL, NULL );
clEnqueueReadBuffer( commandQueue, auxBuf, CL_TRUE, 0, sizeof(void*), &gpuPtr, 0, NULL, NULL );
clReleaseMemObject(auxBuf);
...
Now "gpuPtr" should contain the address of the beginning of "myBuf" in GPU memory space.
The solution is obvious and i can't find it? How can I get back a pointer to device memory when creating buffers?
It's because in the OpenCL model, host memory and device memory are disjoint. A pointer in device memory will have no meaning on the host.
You can map a device buffer to host memory using clEnqueueMapBuffer. The mapping will synchronize device to host, and unmapping will synchronize back host to device.
Update. As you explain in the comments, you want to send a tree structure to the GPU. One solution would be to store all tree nodes inside an array, replacing pointers to nodes with indices in the array.
As Eric pointed out, there are two sets of memory to consider: host memory and device memory. Basically, OpenCL tries to hide the gritty details of this interaction by introducing the buffer object for us to interact with in our program on the host side. Now, as you noted, the problem with this methodology is that it hides away the details of our device when we want to do something trickier than the OpenCL developers intended or allowed in their scope. The solution here is to remember that OpenCL kernels use C99 and that the language allows us to access pointers without any issue. With this in mind, we can just demand the pointer be stored in an unsigned integer variable to be referenced later.
Your implementation was on the right track, but it needed a little bit more C syntax to finish up the transfer.
OpenCL Kernel:
// Kernel used to obtain pointer from target buffer
__kernel void mem_ptr(__global char * buffer, __global ulong * ptr)
{
ptr[0] = &buffer[0];
}
// Kernel to demonstrate how to use that pointer again after we extract it.
__kernel void use_ptr(__global ulong * ptr)
{
char * print_me = (char *)ptr[0];
/* Code that uses all of our hard work */
/* ... */
}
Host Program:
// Create the buffer that we want the device pointer from (target_buffer)
// and a place to store it (ptr_buffer).
cl_mem target_buffer = clCreateBuffer(context, CL_MEM_READ_WRITE,
MEM_SIZE * sizeof(char), NULL, &ret);
cl_mem ptr_buffer = clCreateBuffer(context, CL_MEM_READ_WRITE,
1 * sizeof(cl_ulong), NULL, &ret);
/* Setup the rest of our OpenCL program */
/* .... */
// Setup our kernel arguments from the host...
ret = clSetKernelArg(kernel_mem_ptr, 0, sizeof(cl_mem), (void *)&target_buffer);
ret = clSetKernelArg(kernel_mem_ptr, 1, sizeof(cl_mem), (void *)&ptr_buffer);
ret = clEnqueueTask(command_queue, kernel_mem_ptr, 0, NULL, NULL);
// Now it's just a matter of storing the pointer where we want to use it for later.
ret = clEnqueueCopyBuffer(command_queue, ptr_buffer, dst_buffer, 0, 1 * sizeof(cl_ulong),
sizeof(cl_ulong), 0, NULL, NULL);
ret = clEnqueueReadBuffer(command_queue, ptr_buffer, CL_TRUE, 0,
1 * sizeof(cl_ulong), buffer_ptrs, 0, NULL, NULL);
There you have it. Now, keep in mind that you don't have to use the char variables I used; it works for any type. However, I'd recommend using cl_ulong for the storing of pointers. This shouldn't matter for devices with less than 4GB of accessible memory. But for devices with a larger address space, you have to use cl_ulong. If you absolutely NEED to save space on your device but have a device whose memory > 4GB, then you might be able to create a struct that can store the lower 32 LSB of the address into a uint type, with the MSB's being stored in a small type.

Incorrect copying of memory in OpenCL

I am getting some unusual behaviour in my openCL program.
In a host part of the program I create an array of double and set all elements to zero. That array is copied to the GPU using:
memObjects[4] = clCreateBuffer(context, CL_MEM_READ_WRITE | CL_MEM_COPY_HOST_PTR,
sizeof(double) * I_numel, I, NULL);
Inside the kernel some elements are set to 1 depending on some condition and then I read it back to the host with:
errNum = clEnqueueReadBuffer(commandQueue, memObjects[4], CL_TRUE, 0,
I_numel * sizeof(double), I, 0, NULL, NULL);
However, some of the elements that were supposed to be zero have changed to very small ( 6.953267903e-310 ) or very large numbers ( 2.0002319483e+161 ) !?!
I've tried changing double to float but the results are similar. I am using nvidia implementation of openCL, version is 1.1. Does anyone know what is the problem?
I suspect there's something wrong with your kernel code. What happens if you do just the clEnqueueRead without running the kernel at all, do you then get all zeros? How about if you drop the CL_MEM_COPY_HOST_PTR and clear the buffer with clEnqueueWrite instead?
I tried to reproduce the issue with this simplified kernel, but the output was just alternating zeros and ones, as expected:
kernel void enqueueReadBuffer(global float* outputValueArray) {
int gid = get_global_id(0);
if (gid % 2 == 0) {
outputValueArray[gid] = 1.0f;
}
}
I ran this on three different OpenCL drivers on Windows 7, including NVIDIA Quadro FX4800 (R307.45), and got the correct result on all of them.
Try replacing the shown code with this and then post the err numbers
cl_int err;
memObjects[4] = clCreateBuffer(context, CL_MEM_READ_WRITE | CL_MEM_COPY_HOST_PTR,
sizeof(double) * I_numel, I, &err);
printf("Buffer creation error no = %d", err);
And for the copy back
cl_int err2;
err2= clEnqueueReadBuffer(commandQueue, memObjects[4], CL_TRUE, 0,
I_numel * sizeof(double), I, 0, NULL, NULL);
printf("Copy back error no = %d", err2);

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