Expand communication pages

.github/CODEOWNERS

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 * @bcumming @msimberg @RMeli
 docs/services/firecrest @jpdorsch @ekouts
-docs/software/communication @msimberg
+docs/software/communication @Madeeks @msimberg
 docs/software/devtools/linaro @jgphpc
 docs/software/prgenv/linalg.md @finkandreas @msimberg
 docs/software/sciapps/cp2k.md @abussy @RMeli

docs/guides/gb2025.md

@@ -81,3 +81,7 @@ srun -N1 -n4 -c71 ...
 
 !!! todo
     write a guide on which versions to use, environment variables to set, etc.
+
+See [the container engine documentation][ref-ce-aws-ofi-hook] for information on using NCCL in containers.
+The [NCCL][ref-communication-nccl] contains general information on configuring NCCL.
+This information is especially important when using uenvs, as the environment variables are not set automatically.

docs/software/communication/cray-mpich.md

@@ -58,12 +58,14 @@ See [this page][ref-slurm-gh200] for more information on configuring SLURM to us
 
     Alternatively, if you wish to not use GPU-aware MPI, either unset `MPICH_GPU_SUPPORT_ENABLED` or explicitly set it to `0` in your launch scripts.
 
+[](){#ref-communication-cray-mpich-known-issues}
 ## Known issues
 
 This section documents known issues related to Cray MPICH on Alps. Resolved issues are also listed for reference.
 
 ### Existing Issues
 
+[](){#ref-communication-cray-mpich-cache-monitor-disable}
 #### Cray MPICH hangs
 
 Cray MPICH may sometimes hang on larger runs.

docs/software/communication/libfabric.md

@@ -4,4 +4,21 @@
 [Libfabric](https://ofiwg.github.io/libfabric/), or Open Fabrics Interfaces (OFI), is a low level networking library that abstracts away various networking backends.
 It is used by Cray MPICH, and can be used together with OpenMPI, NCCL, and RCCL to make use of the [Slingshot network on Alps][ref-alps-hsn].
 
+## Using libfabric
+
+If you are using a uenv provided by CSCS, such as [prgenv-gnu][ref-uenv-prgenv-gnu], [Cray MPICH][ref-communication-cray-mpich] is linked to libfabric and the high speed network will be used.
+No changes are required in applications.
+
+If you are using containers, the system libfabric can be loaded into your container using the [CXI hook provided by the container engine][ref-ce-cxi-hook].
+Using the hook is essential to make full use of the Alps network.
+
+## Tuning libfabric
+
+Tuning libfabric (particularly together with [Cray MPICH][ref-communication-cray-mpich], [OpenMPI][ref-communication-openmpi], [NCCL][ref-communication-nccl], and [RCCL][ref-communication-rccl]) depends on many factors, including the application, workload, and system.
+For a comprehensive overview libfabric options for the CXI provider (the provider for the Slingshot network), see the [`fi_cxi` man pages](https://ofiwg.github.io/libfabric/v2.1.0/man/fi_cxi.7.html).
+Note that the exact version deployed on Alps may differ, and not all options may be applicable on Alps.
+
+See the [Cray MPICH known issues page][ref-communication-cray-mpich-known-issues] for issues when using Cray MPICH together with libfabric.
+
 !!! todo
+    More options?

docs/software/communication/nccl.md

@@ -4,7 +4,78 @@
 [NCCL](https://developer.nvidia.com/nccl) is an optimized inter-GPU communication library for NVIDIA GPUs.
 It is commonly used in machine learning frameworks, but traditional scientific applications can also benefit from NCCL.
 
-!!! todo
-    - high level description
-    - libfabric/aws-ofi-nccl plugin
-    - configuration options
+## Using NCCL
+
+To use the Slingshot network on Alps, the [`aws-ofi-nccl`](https://github.com/aws/aws-ofi-nccl) plugin must be used.
+With the container engine, the [AWS OFI NCCL hook][ref-ce-aws-ofi-hook] can be used to load the plugin into the container and configure NCCL to use it.
+
+Most uenvs, like [`prgenv-gnu`][ref-uenv-prgenv-gnu], also contain the NCCL plugin.
+When using e.g. the `default` view of `prgenv-gnu` the `aws-ofi-nccl` plugin will be available in the environment.
+Alternatively, loading the `aws-ofi-nccl` module with the `modules` view also makes the plugin available in the environment.
+The environment variables described below must be set to ensure that NCCL uses the plugin.
+
+While the container engine sets these automatically when using the NCCL hook, the following environment variables should always be set for correctness and optimal performance when using NCCL:
+
+```bash
+export NCCL_NET="AWS Libfabric" # (1)!
+export NCCL_NET_GDR_LEVEL=PHB # (2)!
+export FI_CXI_DEFAULT_CQ_SIZE=131072 # (3)!
+export FI_CXI_DEFAULT_TX_SIZE=32768
+export FI_CXI_DISABLE_HOST_REGISTER=1
+export FI_CXI_RX_MATCH_MODE=software
+export FI_MR_CACHE_MONITOR=userfaultfd
+export MPICH_GPU_SUPPORT_ENABLED=0 # (4)!
+```
+
+1. This forces NCCL to use the libfabric plugin, enabling full use of the Slingshot network. If the plugin can not be found, applications will fail to start. With the default value, applications would instead fall back to e.g. TCP, which would be significantly slower than with the plugin. [More information about `NCCL_NET`](https://docs.nvidia.com/deeplearning/nccl/user-guide/docs/env.html#nccl-net).
+2. Use GPU Direct RDMA when GPU and NIC are on the same NUMA node. [More information about `NCCL_NET_GDR_LEVEL`](https://docs.nvidia.com/deeplearning/nccl/user-guide/docs/env.html#nccl-net-gdr-level-formerly-nccl-ib-gdr-level).
+3. This and the other `FI` (libfabric) environment variables have been found to give the best performance on the Alps network across a wide range of applications. Specific applications may perform better with other values.
+4. Disable GPU-aware MPI explicitly, to avoid potential deadlocks between MPI and NCCL.
+
+!!! warning "Using NCCL with uenvs"
+    The environment variables listed above are not set automatically when using uenvs.
+
+!!! warning "GPU-aware MPI with NCCL"
+    Using GPU-aware MPI together with NCCL [can easily lead to deadlocks](https://docs.nvidia.com/deeplearning/nccl/user-guide/docs/mpi.html#inter-gpu-communication-with-cuda-aware-mpi).
+    Unless care is taken to ensure that the two methods of communication are not used concurrently, we recommend not using GPU-aware MPI with NCCL.
+    To explicitly disable GPU-aware MPI with Cray MPICH, explicitly set `MPICH_GPU_SUPPORT_ENABLED=0`.
+    Note that this option may be set to `1` by default on some Alps clusters.
+    See [the Cray MPICH documentation][ref-communication-cray-mpich] for more details on GPU-aware MPI with Cray MPICH.
+
+!!! warning "`invalid usage` error with `NCCL_NET="AWS Libfabric`"
+    If you are getting error messages such as:
+    ```console
+    nid006352: Test NCCL failure common.cu:958 'invalid usage (run with NCCL_DEBUG=WARN for details)
+    ```
+    this may be due to the plugin not being found by NCCL.
+    If this is the case, running the application with the recommended `NCCL_DEBUG=WARN` should print something similar to the following:
+    ```console
+    nid006352:34157:34217 [1] net.cc:626 NCCL WARN Error: network AWS Libfabric not found.
+    ```
+    When using uenvs like `prgenv-gnu`, make sure you are either using the `default` view which loads `aws-ofi-nccl` automatically, or, if using the `modules` view, load the `aws-ofi-nccl` module with `module load aws-ofi-nccl`.
+    If the plugin is found correctly, running the application with `NCCL_DEBUG=INFO` should print:
+    ```console
+    nid006352:34610:34631 [0] NCCL INFO Using network AWS Libfabric
+    ```
+
+!!! warning "Do not use `NCCL_NET_PLUGIN="ofi"` with uenvs"
+    NCCL has an alternative way of specifying what plugin to use: `NCCL_NET_PLUGIN`.
+    When using uenvs, do not set `NCCL_NET_PLUGIN="ofi"` instead of, or in addition to, `NCCL_NET="AWS Libfabric"`.
+    If you do, your application will fail to start since NCCL will:
+
+    1. fail to find the plugin because of the name of the shared library in the uenv, and
+    2. prefer `NCCL_NET_PLUGIN` over `NCCL_NET`, so it will fail to find the plugin even if `NCCL_NET="AWS Libfabric"` is correctly set.
+
+    When both environment variables are set the error message, with `NCCL_DEBUG=WARN`, will look similar to when the plugin isn't available:
+    ```console
+    nid006365:179857:179897 [1] net.cc:626 NCCL WARN Error: network AWS Libfabric not found.
+    ```
+
+    With `NCCL_DEBUG=INFO`, NCCL will print:
+    ```console
+    nid006365:180142:180163 [0] NCCL INFO NET/Plugin: Could not find: ofi libnccl-net-ofi.so. Using internal network plugin.
+    ...
+    nid006365:180142:180163 [0] net.cc:626 NCCL WARN Error: network AWS Libfabric not found.
+    ```
+
+    If you only set `NCCL_NET="ofi"`, NCCL may silently fail to load the plugin but fall back to the default implementation.

docs/software/communication/openmpi.md

@@ -6,5 +6,52 @@ However, [OpenMPI](https://www.open-mpi.org/) can be used as an alternative in s
 
 To use OpenMPI on Alps, it must be built against [libfabric][ref-communication-libfabric] with support for the [Slingshot 11 network][ref-alps-hsn].
 
+## Using OpenMPI
+
+!!! warning
+    Building and using OpenMPI on Alps is still [work in progress](https://eth-cscs.github.io/cray-network-stack/).
+    The instructions found on this page may be inaccurate, but are a good starting point to using OpenMPI on Alps.
+
+!!! todo
+    Deploy experimental uenv.
+
 !!! todo
-    Building OpenMPI for Alps is still work in progress: https://eth-cscs.github.io/cray-network-stack/.
+    Document OpenMPI uenv next to prgenv-gnu, prgenv-nvfortran, and linalg?
+
+OpenMPI is provided through a [uenv][ref-uenv] similar to [`prgenv-gnu`][ref-uenv-prgenv-gnu].
+Once the uenv is loaded, compiling and linking with OpenMPI and libfabric is transparent.
+At runtime, some additional options must be set to correctly use the Slingshot network.
+
+First, when launching applications through slurm, [PMIx](https://pmix.github.com) must be used for application launching.
+This is done with the `--mpi` flag of `srun`:
+```bash
+srun --mpi=pmix ...
+```
+
+Additionally, the following environment variables should be set:
+```bash
+export PMIX_MCA_psec="native" # (1)!
+export FI_PROVIDER="cxi" # (2)!
+export OMPI_MCA_pml="^ucx" # (3)!
+export OMPI_MCA_mtl="ofi" # (4)!
+
+1. Ensures PMIx uses the same security domain as Slurm. Otherwise PMIx will print warnings at startup.
+2. Use the CXI (Slingshot) provider.
+3. Use anything except [UCX](https://openucx.org/documentation/) for [point-to-point communication](https://docs.open-mpi.org/en/v5.0.x/mca.html#selecting-which-open-mpi-components-are-used-at-run-time). The `^` signals that OpenMPI should exclude all listed components.
+4. Use libfabric for the [Matching Transport Layer](https://docs.open-mpi.org/en/v5.0.x/mca.html#frameworks).
+
+!!! info "CXI provider does all communication through the network interface cards (NICs)"
+    When using the libfabric CXI provider, all communication goes through NICs, including intra-node communication.
+    This means that intra-node communication can not make use of shared memory optimizations and the maximum bandwidth will not be severely limited.
+
+    Libfabric has a new [LINKx](https://ofiwg.github.io/libfabric/v2.1.0/man/fi_lnx.7.html) provider, which allows using different libfabric providers for inter- and intra-node communication.
+    This provider is not as well tested, but can in theory perform better for intra-node communication, because it can use shared memory.
+    To use the LINKx provider, set the following, instead of `FI_PROVIDER=cxi`:
+
+    ```bash
+    export FI_PROVIDER="lnx" # (1)!
+    export FI_LNX_PROV_LINKS="shm+cxi" # (2)!
+    ```
+
+    1. Use the libfabric LINKx provider, to allow using different libfabric providers for inter- and intra-node communication.
+    2. Use the shared memory provider for intra-node communication and the CXI (Slingshot) provider for inter-node communication.

docs/software/communication/rccl.md

@@ -8,3 +8,7 @@ It provides equivalent functionality to [NCCL][ref-communication-nccl] for AMD G
     - high level description
     - libfabric/aws-ofi-rccl plugin
     - configuration options
+
+!!! info
+    RCCL uses many of the same [configuration options as NCCL](https://docs.nvidia.com/deeplearning/nccl/user-guide/docs/env.html), with the `NCCL` prefix, not `RCCL`.
+    Refer to NCCL documentation to tune RCCL.

docs/software/container-engine.md

@@ -437,7 +437,9 @@ If a libfabric library is already present in the container filesystem (for examp
 
 !!! note
     Due to the nature of Slingshot and the mechanism implemented by the CXI hook, container applications need to use a communication library which supports libfabric in order to benefit from usage of the hook.
-> Libfabric support might have to be defined at compilation time (as is the case for some MPI implementations, like MPICH and OpenMPI) or could be dynamically available at runtime (as is the case with NCCL - see also [this][ref-ce-aws-ofi-hook] section for more details).
+
+!!! note
+    Libfabric support might have to be defined at compilation time (as is the case for some MPI implementations, like MPICH and OpenMPI) or could be dynamically available at runtime (as is the case with NCCL - see also [this][ref-ce-aws-ofi-hook] section for more details).
 
 The hook is activated by setting the `com.hooks.cxi.enabled` annotation, which can be defined in the EDF, as shown in the following example:
 
@@ -533,6 +535,7 @@ Container hooks let you customize container behavior to fit system-specific need
 ### AWS OFI NCCL Hook 
 
 The [AWS OFI NCCL plugin](https://github.com/aws/aws-ofi-nccl) is a software extension that allows the [NCCL](https://developer.nvidia.com/nccl) and [RCCL](https://rocm.docs.amd.com/projects/rccl/en/latest/) libraries to use libfabric as a network provider and, through libfabric, to access the Slingshot high-speed interconnect.
+Also see [NCCL][ref-communication-nccl] and [libfabric][ref-communication-libfabric] for more information on using the libraries on Alps.
 
 The Container Engine includes a hook program to inject the AWS OFI NCCL plugin in containers; since the plugin must also be compatible with the GPU programming software stack being used, the `com.hooks.aws_ofi_nccl.variant` annotation is used to specify a plugin variant suitable for a given container image.
 At the moment of writing, 4 plugin variants are configured: `cuda11`, `cuda12` (to be used on NVIDIA GPU nodes), `rocm5`, and `rocm6` (to be used on AMD GPU nodes alongside RCCL).