DAPT: A package enabling distributed automated parameter testing

Modern agent-based models (ABM) and other simulation models require evaluation and testing of many different parameters. Managing that testing for large scale parameter sweeps (grid searches), as well as storing simulation data, requires multiple, potentially customizable steps that may...

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Main Authors: Ben Duggan, John Metzcar, Paul Macklin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: GigaScience Press 2021-06-01
Series:GigaByte
Online Access:https://gigabytejournal.com/articles/22
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author Ben Duggan
John Metzcar
Paul Macklin
author_facet Ben Duggan
John Metzcar
Paul Macklin
author_sort Ben Duggan
collection DOAJ
description Modern agent-based models (ABM) and other simulation models require evaluation and testing of many different parameters. Managing that testing for large scale parameter sweeps (grid searches), as well as storing simulation data, requires multiple, potentially customizable steps that may vary across simulations. Furthermore, parameter testing, processing, and analysis are slowed if simulation and processing jobs cannot be shared across teammates or computational resources. While high-performance computing (HPC) has become increasingly available, models can often be tested faster with the use of multiple computers and HPC resources. To address these issues, we created the Distributed Automated Parameter Testing (DAPT) Python package. By hosting parameters in an online (and often free) “database”, multiple individuals can run parameter sets simultaneously in a distributed fashion, enabling ad hoc crowdsourcing of computational power. Combining this with a flexible, scriptable tool set, teams can evaluate models and assess their underlying hypotheses quickly. Here, we describe DAPT and provide an example demonstrating its use.
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spelling doaj-art-bf5295eb4ffd4458a5b6c4549d0e08782025-08-20T02:15:37ZengGigaScience PressGigaByte2709-47152021-06-0110.46471/gigabyte.22DAPT: A package enabling distributed automated parameter testingBen Duggan 0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1819-2130John Metzcar 1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0142-0387Paul Macklin 2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9925-0151Indiana University Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering, 107 S Indiana Ave, Bloomington, IN 47405, USAIndiana University Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering, 107 S Indiana Ave, Bloomington, IN 47405, USAIndiana University Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering, 107 S Indiana Ave, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA Modern agent-based models (ABM) and other simulation models require evaluation and testing of many different parameters. Managing that testing for large scale parameter sweeps (grid searches), as well as storing simulation data, requires multiple, potentially customizable steps that may vary across simulations. Furthermore, parameter testing, processing, and analysis are slowed if simulation and processing jobs cannot be shared across teammates or computational resources. While high-performance computing (HPC) has become increasingly available, models can often be tested faster with the use of multiple computers and HPC resources. To address these issues, we created the Distributed Automated Parameter Testing (DAPT) Python package. By hosting parameters in an online (and often free) “database”, multiple individuals can run parameter sets simultaneously in a distributed fashion, enabling ad hoc crowdsourcing of computational power. Combining this with a flexible, scriptable tool set, teams can evaluate models and assess their underlying hypotheses quickly. Here, we describe DAPT and provide an example demonstrating its use. https://gigabytejournal.com/articles/22
spellingShingle Ben Duggan
John Metzcar
Paul Macklin
DAPT: A package enabling distributed automated parameter testing
GigaByte
title DAPT: A package enabling distributed automated parameter testing
title_full DAPT: A package enabling distributed automated parameter testing
title_fullStr DAPT: A package enabling distributed automated parameter testing
title_full_unstemmed DAPT: A package enabling distributed automated parameter testing
title_short DAPT: A package enabling distributed automated parameter testing
title_sort dapt a package enabling distributed automated parameter testing
url https://gigabytejournal.com/articles/22
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