Setting job-slot specifications in the Load Sharing Facility (LSF)


In LSF, a job slot is a basic unit of processor allocation. By default, each processor is a single job slot, which means that LSF executes only one job at a time on that processor. However, it is possible to configure more than one job slot per processor on a host-by-host basis. If the jobs that you are submitting are I/O intensive, you might want to try to configure two job slots per processor, especially if the processor is a fast one.

To change the number of job slots on a machine, perform these steps:

  1. Log on to the machine as the LSF Administrator (lsfadmin).
  2. Open the file lsb.hosts, which is located in the directory:
    LSF-installation-directory\conf\lsbatch\cluster-name\configuration-directory.
    In the Host section of the file, you see an entry for a default host.

    Begin Host
    HOST_NAME MXJ r1m pg ls tmp DISPATCH_WINDOW #Keywords
    default ! () () () () () #Example
    End Host

    The value specifies one job per processor.

  3. Edit this section by replacing the value ! with a number that specifies the number of jobs you want to run per processor. For example, if you want to run two jobs per processor, edit the Host section as follows:

    Begin Host
    HOST_NAME MXJ r1m pg ls tmp DISPATCH_WINDOW #Keywords
    default 2 () () () () () #Example
    End Host

  4. Save your changes, and close the file.
  5. Issue the command badmin reconfig.