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Intel Math Kernel Library (MKL)

Intel MKL provides a collection of numerical functions covering linear algebra, statistics, nonlinear optimization, fast Fourier transform and other similar topics.

The Intel Math Kernel Library is available on Apocrita, as part of the Intel compiler and tools suite. It can be accessed through the module system. The library provides routines covering a range of numerical areas, including implementations of the BLAS and LAPACK specifications for linear algebra. Intel MKL can be used as an alternative to the reference LAPACK implementation provided by the lapack modules.

Intel MKL is directly accessible through C (header file mkl.h) and Fortran (mkl.fi) interfaces.

Using Intel MKL with the Intel compilers

Intel MKL is most easily used with the Intel compilers installed on Apocrita. Each version of an Intel compiler module provides the corresponding release of the MKL package. Once an intel/ module has been loaded, the compiler flag -mkl can be used to make available the MKL header files, modules and library objects. For example, to compile the Fortran source file mkl-program.f90 using MKL:

module load intel
ifort -mkl mkl-program.f90

Similarly for the C source file mkl-program.c:

module load intel
icc -mkl mkl-program.c

Using -mkl to compile selects the appropriate version of the MKL package for the size of integer variables, use of threading and whether linking is against the dynamic or static objects. An alternative to using the -mkl compiler option is to specify the corresponding flags manually. The required flags can be found using the Intel MKL Link Line Advisor tool.

Some versions of the Intel modules also provide pkg-config files to provide the flags:

module load intel
# Get flags for compilation
pkg-config --cflags mkl-dynamic-lp64-iomp
# Get flags for linking
pkg-config --libs mkl-dynamic-lp64-iomp

We can also pkg-config in simple compilation command lines:

module load intel
icc $(pkg-config --cflags mkl-dynamic-lp64-iomp) mkl-program.c \
    $(pkg-config --libs mkl-dynamic-lp64-iomp)

Using MKL Fortran modules

The MKL package provides Fortran module files in addition to the Fortran include file mkl.fi for some components of the library, such as the LAPACK95 module lapack95. The compiler flag -mkl allows these modules to be found.

Using Intel MKL with GCC compilers

Intel MKL may be used with the GCC compilers installed on Apocrita. The Intel MKL Link Line Advisor tool can be used to determine the required compiler and link flags to access the package. The variable MKLROOT, referred to in the advisor output, should be set to the directory where the version of MKL is installed. The correct value can be found by querying the intel/ module corresponding to the installation. For example, in Bash:

export MKLROOT=$(module load intel; echo $MKLROOT)
module load gcc
gcc mkl-program.c ...

where ... represents the required compiler flags given by the advisor.

Building and using MKL Fortran modules

The MKL package provides Fortran module files in addition to the Fortran include file mkl.fi for some components of the library, such as the LAPACK95 module lapack95. However, the .mod files in the MKL installation are not compatible with the GNU Fortran compiler: before the Fortran modules can be used with other compilers, compatible module files must first be built from the available source files. For example, to build the modules for LAPACK95 in Bash we may use:

# Move to a temporary location for building
cd /data/scratch/$USER
# Find the root of the MKL installation
export MKLROOT=$(module load intel; echo $MKLROOT)
# Load a module to set up our GCC environment
module load gcc
# Set the location of where to install the interfaces
export F95ROOT=$HOME/mkl-lapack95
# Copy the modue source files from the MKL installation
cp -r $MKLROOT/interfaces/lapack95 .
# Build (this also installs) the interfaces
make -C lapack95 libintel64 INSTALL_DIR=$F95ROOT

The variable F95ROOT is then used in the command line provided by the Link Advisor tool.

References