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authorGerd Heber <gheber@hdfgroup.org>2021-04-26 19:07:29 (GMT)
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Merge doxygen2 into develop (#553)
* Fixed warnings and started H5Epublic.h. * Include H5FD* headers to correctly resolve references. * Doxygen2 (#330) * H5Eauto_is_v2. * Added a few more calls. * Added a few more H5E calls. * First cut of H5E v2. * Added the deprecated v1 calls. * Updated spacing. * Once more. * Taking some inspiration from Eigen3. * Add doxygen for the assigned functions: H5Pregister1,H5Pinsert1,H5Pen… (#352) * Add doxygen for the assigned functions: H5Pregister1,H5Pinsert1,H5Pencode1, H5Pget_filter_by_id1,H5Pget_version, H5Pset_file_space,H5Pget_file_space. Someone already adds H5Pget_filter1. Also fixs an extra parameter 'close' call back function for HPregister2. * doxygen work. fixs format by using clang-format. * doxgen work for H5Pregister1 etc. Addressed Barbara and Gerd's comments. For Quincey's comments, since we are not supposed to change the source code. I leave this to future improvements. * added documentation for H5P APIs (#350) * add documenation for H5Pget_buffer,H5Pget_data_transform,H5Pget_edc_check,H5Pget_hyper_vector_size,H5Pget_preserve,H5Pget_type_conv_cb,H5Pget_vlen_mem_manager,H5Pset_btree_ratios * format corrections * fixed grammer * fixed herr_t * Better name. * A fresh look. * add doxygen to H5Ppublic.h * use attention instead of warning * Add doxygen comments in H5Ppublic.h (#375) * Add doxygen comments in H5Ppublic.h * H5Pset_meta_block_size * H5Pset_metadata_read_attempts * H5Pset_multi_type * H5Pset_object_flush_cb * H5Pset_sieve_buf_size * H5Pset_small_data_block_size * H5Pset_all_coll_metadata_ops * H5Pget_all_coll_metadata_ops * Add DOXYGEN_EXAMPLES_DIR to src/CMakeLists.txt * Fix clang-format errors * Fix filenames in doxygen/examples * add doxygen to H5Ppublic.h (#378) * add doxygen to H5Ppublic.h * use attention instead of warning Co-authored-by: Kimmy Mu <kmu@hdfgroup.org> * Revert "add doxygen to H5Ppublic.h (#378)" This reverts commit 2ee1821b138a5c00b15ea57ce9e950367480f5f2. * Updated Doxygen variables. * I forgot to copy two images. * Enable desktop search by default. * Add my assigned Doxygen documentation. * Remove whitespace at EOL. Appease clang-format. * Addressed Chris' comments. * Added an alias for asynchronous functions. * One space is enough for all of us. * Slightly restructured RM page. * address some issues * reformatting * Style external links. * reformatting * reformatting * Added "Metadata Caching in HDF5" as a technical note example. * Revise this soon! * Added specification examples. * Fixed references. * Added H5AC cache image stuff and file format study. * Added older FMT versions. Where did 1.0 go? * Updated C/C++ note and replaced ambiguous labels. * Reformat source with clang v10.0.1. * Added the VFL technical note. * Added what I believe might be called version 1.0 of the format. * Added the remaining specs. * Added H5Z callback documentation and fixed a few mistakes. * Added dox for deprecated H5G calls and fixed a few snippet blockIDs. * clang-format happy? * Ok? * Bonus track: Deprecated H5D functions. * Carry over the more detailed group description. * Added documentation for the missing and deprecated H5R calls. * Life is easier and less repetitive w/ snippets. Use them! * Eliminate the snippet block ID artifacts in the HTML rendering. * Fixed snippet HTML artifacts and added a few missing calls. * Under 20 H5Ps to go! * Almost complete! * "This is a form of pedantry up with which I will not put." (Churchill) * Let's not waste as much space on bulleted lists! * First complete (?) draft of the Doxygen-based RM. * Completeness check and minor fixes along the way. * Pedantry. * Adding missing H5FD calls checkpoint. * Pedantry. * More pedantry. * Added H5Pset_fapl_log. * First draft of H5ES. * Fixed warnings. * Prep. for map module. * First cut of the map module. * Pedantry. * Possible H5F introduction. * Fix the indentation. * Pedantry. * Ditto. * Thanks to the reviewers for their comments. * Added missing images. * Line numbers are a distraction here. * More examples, references, and clean-up. Don't repeat yourself! * Clang pedantry. * Ditto. * More reviewer comments... * Templatized references and cleaned up \todos. * Committing clang-format changes * Fixed MANIFEST. * Addressed Quincey's comments. (OCPLs) * Fixed a few more \todo items. * Fixed more \todo items. * Added attribute life cycle. * Forgot the examples file. * Committing clang-format changes * Pedantry. * Live and learn! * Added a sample H5D life cycle. * Committing clang-format changes * Pedantry. Co-authored-by: kyang2014 <kyang2014@users.noreply.github.com> Co-authored-by: Scot Breitenfeld <brtnfld@hdfgroup.org> Co-authored-by: Kimmy Mu <kmu@hdfgroup.org> Co-authored-by: Christopher Hogan <ChristopherHogan@users.noreply.github.com> Co-authored-by: jya-kmu <53388330+jya-kmu@users.noreply.github.com> Co-authored-by: David Young <dyoung@hdfgroup.org> Co-authored-by: Larry Knox <lrknox@hdfgroup.org> Co-authored-by: github-actions <41898282+github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
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+/** \page TNMDC Metadata Caching in HDF5
+
+\todo Revise this!
+
+\section intro Introduction
+
+In the 1.6.4 release, we introduced a re-implementation of the metadata
+cache. That release contained an incomplete version of the cache which could not
+be controlled via the API. The version in the 1.8 release is more mature and
+includes new API calls that allow the user program to configure the metadata
+cache both on file open and at run time.
+
+From the user perspective, the most striking effect of the new cache should be a
+large reduction in the cache memory requirements when working with complex HDF5
+files.
+
+Those working with such files may also notice a reduction in file close time.
+
+Those working with HDF5 files with a simple structure shouldn't notice any
+particular changes in most cases. In rare cases, there may be a significant
+improvement in performance.
+
+The remainder of this document contains an architectural overview of the old and
+new metadata caches, a discussion of algorithms used to automatically adjust
+cache size to circumstances, and a high-level discussion of the cache
+configuration controls. It can be safely skipped by anyone who works only with
+HDF5 files with relatively simple structure (i.e. no huge groups, no datasets
+with large numbers of chunks, and no objects with large numbers of attributes.)
+
+On the other hand, it is mandatory reading if you want to use something other
+than the default metadata cache configuration. The documentation on the metadata
+cache-related API calls will not make much sense without this background.
+
+\section oldnew Old and New Metadata Cache
+
+\subsection old The Old Metadata Cache
+
+The old metadata cache indexed the cache with a hash table with no provision for
+collisions. Instead, collisions were handled by evicting the existing entry to
+make room for the new entry. Aside from flushes, there was no other mechanism
+for evicting entries, so the replacement policy could best be described as
+"Evict on Collision".
+
+As a result, if two frequently used entries hashed to the same location, they
+would evict each other regularly. To decrease the likelihood of this situation,
+the default hash table size was set fairly large -- slightly more than
+10,000. This worked well, but since the size of metadata entries is not bounded,
+and since entries were only evicted on collision, the large hash table size
+allowed the cache size to explode when working with HDF5 files with complex
+structure.
+
+The "Evict on Collision" replacement policy also caused problems with the
+parallel version of the HDF5 library, as a collision with a dirty entry could
+force a write in response to a metadata read. Since all metadata writes must be
+collective in the parallel case while reads need not be, this could cause the
+library to hang if only some of the processes participated in a metadata read
+that forced a write. Prior to the implementation of the new metadata cache, we
+dealt with this issue by maintaining a shadow cache for dirty entries evicted by
+a read.
+
+\subsection new The New Metadata Cache
+
+The new metadata cache was designed to address the above issues. After
+implementation, it became evident that the working set size for HDF5 files
+varies widely depending on both structure and access patterns. Thus it was
+necessary to add support for cache size adjustment under either automatic or
+user program control (see section 2.3 for details).
+
+When the cache is operating under direct user program control, it is also
+possible to temporarily disable evictions from the metadata cache so as to
+maximize raw data throughput at the expense of allowing the cache to grow
+without bound until evictions are enabled again.
+
+Structurally, the new metadata cache can be thought of as a heavily modified
+version of the UNIX buffer cache as described in chapter three of M. J. Bach's
+"The Design of the UNIX Operating System" In essence, the UNIX buffer cache uses
+a hash table with chaining to index a pool of fixed-size buffers. It uses the
+LRU replacement policy to select candidates for eviction.
+
+Since HDF5 metadata entries are not of fixed size and may grow arbitrarily
+large, the size of the new metadata cache cannot be controlled by setting a
+maximum number of entries. Instead, the new cache keeps a running sum of the
+sizes of all entries and attempts to evict entries as necessary to stay within a
+user-specified maximum size. (Note the use of the word "attempts" here -- as
+will be seen, it is possible for the cache to exceed its currently specified
+maximum size.) At present, the LRU replacement policy is the only option for
+selecting candidates for eviction.
+
+Per the standard Unix buffer cache, dirty entries are given two passes through
+the LRU list before being evicted. The first time they reach the end of the LRU
+list, they are flushed, marked as clean, and moved to the head of the LRU
+list. When a clean entry reaches the end of the LRU list, it is simply evicted
+if space is needed.
+
+The cache cannot evict entries that are locked, and thus it will temporarily
+grow beyond its maximum size if there are insufficient unlocked entries
+available for eviction.
+
+In the parallel version of the library, only the cache running under process 0
+of the file communicator is allowed to write metadata to file. All the other
+caches must retain dirty metadata until the process 0 cache tells them that the
+metadata is clean.
+
+Since all operations modifying metadata must be collective, all caches see the
+same stream of dirty metadata. This fact is used to allow them to synchronize
+every n bytes of dirty metadata, where n is a user-configurable value that
+defaults to 256 KB.
+
+To avoid sending the other caches messages from the future, process 0 must not
+write any dirty entries until it reaches a synchronization point. When it
+reaches a synchronization point, it writes entries as needed, and then
+broadcasts the list of flushed entries to the other caches. The caches on the
+other processes use this list to mark entries clean before they leave the
+synchronization point, allowing them to evict those entries as needed.
+
+The caches will also synchronize on a user-initiated flush.
+
+To minimize overhead when running in parallel, the cache maintains a "clean" LRU
+list in addition to the regular LRU list. This list contains only clean entries
+and is used as a source of candidates for eviction when flushing dirty entries
+is not allowed.
+
+Since flushing entries is forbidden most of the time when running in parallel,
+the caches can be forced to exceed their maximum sizes if they run out of clean
+entries to evict.
+
+To decrease the likelihood of this event, the new cache allows the user to
+specify a minimum clean size -- which is a minimum total size of all the entries
+on the clean LRU plus all unused space in the cache.
+
+While the clean LRU list is only maintained in the parallel version of the HDF5
+library, the notion of a minimum clean size still applies in the serial
+case. Here it is used to force a mix of clean and dirty entries in the cache
+even in the write-only case.
+
+This, in turn, reduces the number of redundant flushes by avoiding the case in
+which the cache fills with dirty metadata and all entries must be flushed before
+a clean entry can be evicted to make room for a new entry.
+
+Observe that in both the serial and parallel cases, the maintenance of a minimum
+clean size modifies the replacement policy, as dirty entries may be flushed
+earlier than would otherwise be the case so as to maintain the desired amount of
+clean and/or empty space in the cache.
+
+While the new metadata cache only supports the LRU replacement policy at
+present, that may change. Support for multiple replacement policies was very
+much in mind when the cache was designed, as was the ability to switch
+replacement policies at run time. The situation has been complicated by the
+later addition of the adaptive cache resizing requirement, as two of the
+resizing algorithms piggyback on the LRU list. However, if there is a need for
+additional replacement policies, it shouldn't be too hard to implement them.
+
+\section adapt Adaptive Cache Resizing in the New Metadata Cache
+
+As mentioned earlier, the metadata working set size for an HDF5 file varies
+wildly depending on the structure of the file and the access pattern. For
+example, a 2MB limit on metadata cache size is excessive for an H5repack of
+almost all HDF5 files we have tested. However, I have a file submitted by one of
+our users that will run a 13% hit rate with this cache size and will lock up one
+of our Linux boxes using the old metadata cache. Increase the new metadata cache
+size to 4 MB, and the hit rate exceeds 99%.
+
+In this case, the main culprit is a root group with more than 20,000 entries in
+it. As a result, the root group heap exceeds 1 MB, which tends to crowd out the
+rest of the metadata in a 2 MB cache
+
+This case and a number of synthetic tests convinced us that we needed to modify
+the new metadata cache to expand and contract according to need within
+user-specified bounds.
+
+I was unable to find any previous work on this problem, so I invented solutions
+as I went along. If you are aware of prior work, please send me references. The
+closest I was able to come was a group of embedded CPU designers who were
+turning off sections of their cache to conserve power.
+
+\subsection increasing Increasing the Cache Size
+
+In the context of the HDF5 library, the problem of increasing the cache size as
+necessary to contain the current working set turns out to involve two rather
+different issues.
+
+The first of these, which was recognized immediately, is the problem of
+recognizing long term changes in working set size, and increasing the cache size
+accordingly, while not reacting to transients.
+
+The second, which I recognized the hard way, is to adjust the cache size for
+sudden, dramatic increases in working set size caused by requests for large
+pieces of metadata which may be larger than the current metadata cache size.
+
+The algorithms for handling these situations are discussed below. These problems
+are largely orthogonal to each other, so both algorithms may be used
+simultaneously.
+
+\subsubsection hrtcsi Hit Rate Threshold Cache Size Increment
+
+Perhaps the most obvious heuristic for identifying cases in which the cache is
+too small involves monitoring the hit rate. If the hit rate is low for a while,
+and the cache is at its current maximum size, the current maximum cache size is
+probably too small.
+
+The hit rate threshold algorithm for increasing cache size applies this
+intuition directly.
+
+Hit rate statistics are collected over a user-specified number of cache
+accesses. This period is known as an epoch.
+
+At the end of each epoch, the hit rate is computed, and the counters are
+reset. If the hit rate is below a user-specified threshold and the cache is at
+its current maximum size, the maximum size of the cache is increased by a
+user-specified multiple. If required, the new cache maximum size is clipped to
+stay within the user-specified upper bound on the maximum cache size, and
+optionally, within a user-specified maximum increment.
+
+My tests indicate that this algorithm works well in most cases. However, in a
+synthetic test in which hit rate increased slowly with cache size, and load
+remained steady for many epochs, I observed a case in which cache size increased
+until the hit rate just exceeded the specified minimum and then stalled. This is
+a problem, as to avoid volatility, it is necessary to set the minimum hit rate
+threshold well below the desired hit rate. Thus we may find ourselves with a
+cache running with a 91% hit rate when we really want it to increase its size
+until the hit rate is about 99%.
+
+If this case occurs frequently in actual use, I will have to come up with an
+improved algorithm. Please let me know if you see this behavior. However, I had
+to work rather hard to create it in my synthetic tests, so I would expect it to
+be uncommon.
+
+\subsubsection fcsi Flash Cache Size Increment
+
+A fundamental problem with the above algorithm is that contains the hidden
+assumption that cache entries are relatively small in comparison to the cache
+itself. While I knew this assumption was not generally true when I developed the
+algorithm, I thought that cases, where it failed, would be so rare as to not be
+worth considering, as even if they did occur, the above algorithm would rectify
+the situation within an epoch or two.
+
+While it is true that such occurrences are rare, and it is true that the hit
+rate threshold cache size increment algorithm will rectify the situation
+eventually, the performance degradation experienced by users while waiting for
+the epoch to end was so extreme that some way of accelerating response to such
+situations was essential.
+
+To understand the problem, consider the following use case:
+
+Suppose we create a group, and then repeatedly create a new data set in the
+group, write some data to it and then close it.
+
+In some versions of the HDF5 file format, the names of the datasets will be
+stored in a local heap associated with the group, and the space for that heap
+will be allocated in a single, contiguous chunk. When this local heap is full,
+we allocate a new chunk twice the size of the old, copy the data from the old
+local heap into the new, and discard the old local heap.
+
+By default, the minimum metadata cache size is set to 2 MB. Thus in this use
+case, our hit rate will be fine as long as the local heap is no larger than a
+little less than 2 MB, as the group related metadata is accessed frequently and
+never evicted, and the data set related metadata is never accessed once the data
+set is closed, and thus is evicted smoothly to make room for new data sets.
+
+All this changes abruptly when the local heap finally doubles in size to a value
+above the slightly less than 2 MB limit. All of a sudden, the local heap is the
+size of the metadata cache, and the cache must constantly swap it in to access
+it, and then swap it out to make room for other metadata.
+
+The hit rate threshold-based algorithm for increasing the cache size will fix
+this problem eventually, but performance will be very bad until it does, as the
+metadata cache will largely ineffective until its size is increased.
+
+An obvious heuristic for addressing this "big rock in a small pond" issue is to
+watch for large "incoming rocks", and increase the size of the "pond" if the
+rock is so big that it will force most of the "water" out of the "pond".
+
+The add space flash cache size increment algorithm applies this intuition
+directly:
+
+Let x be either the size of a newly inserted entry, a newly loaded entry, or the
+number of bytes by which the size of an existing entry has been increased
+(i.e. the size of the "rock").
+
+If x is greater than some user-specified fraction of the current maximum cache
+size, increase the current maximum cache size by x times some user-specified
+multiple, less any free space that was in the cache, to begin with. Further, to
+avoid confusing the other cache size increment/decrement code, start a new
+epoch.
+
+At present, this algorithm pays no attention to any user-specified limit on the
+maximum size of any single cache size increase, but it DOES stay within the
+user-specified upper bound on the maximum cache size.
+
+While it should be easy to see how this algorithm could be fooled into
+inactivity by a large number of entries that were not quite large enough to
+cross the threshold, in practice it seems to work reasonably well.
+
+Needless to say, I will revisit the issue should this cease to be the case.
+
+\subsection decreasing Decreasing the Cache Size
+
+Identifying cases in which the maximum cache size is larger than necessary
+turned out to be more difficult.
+
+\subsubsection hrtcsr Hit Rate Threshold Cache Size Reduction
+
+One obvious heuristic is to monitor the hit rate and guess that we can safely
+decrease cache size if the hit rate exceeds some user-supplied threshold (say
+.99995). The hit rate threshold size decrement algorithm implemented in the new
+metadata cache implements this intuition as follows:
+
+At the end of each epoch (this is the same epoch that is used in the cache size
+increment algorithm), the hit rate is compared with the user-specified
+threshold. If the hit rate exceeds that threshold, the current maximum cache
+size is decreased by a user-specified factor. If required, the size of the
+reduction is clipped to stay within a user-specified lower bound on the maximum
+cache size, and optionally, within a user-specified maximum decrement.
+
+In my synthetic tests, this algorithm works poorly. Even with a very high
+threshold and a small maximum reduction, it results in cache size
+oscillations. The size increment code typically increments the maximum cache
+size above the working set size. This results in a high hit rate, which causes
+the threshold size decrement code to reduce the maximum cache size below the
+working set size, which causes the hit rate to crash causing the cycle to
+repeat. The resulting average hit rate is poor.
+
+It remains to be seen if this behavior will be seen in the field. The algorithm
+is available for use, but it wouldn't be my first choice. If you use it, please
+report back.
+
+\subsubsection acsr Ageout Cache Size Reduction
+
+Another heuristic for dealing with oversized cache conditions is to look for
+entries that haven't been accessed for a long time, evict them, and reduce the
+cache size accordingly.
+
+The age out cache size reduction applies this intuition as follows: At the end
+of each epoch (again the same epoch as used in the cache size increment
+algorithm), all entries that haven't been accessed for a user-configurable
+number of epochs (1 - 10 at present) are evicted. The maximum cache size is then
+reduced to equal the sum of the sizes of the remaining entries. The size of the
+reduction is clipped to stay within a user-specified lower bound on maximum
+cache size, and optionally, within a user-specified maximum decrement.
+
+In addition, the user may specify a minimum fraction of the cache which must be
+empty before the cache size is reduced. Thus if an empty reserve of 0.1 was
+specified on a 10 MB cache, there would be no cache size reduction unless the
+eviction of aged out entries resulted in more than 1 MB of empty space. Further,
+even after the reduction, the cache would be one-tenth empty.
+
+In my synthetic tests, the age out algorithm works rather well, although it is
+somewhat sensitive to the epoch length and age out period selection.
+
+\subsubsection awhrtcsr Ageout With Hit Rate Threshold Cache Size Reduction
+
+To address these issues, I combined the hit rate threshold and age out
+heuristics.
+
+Age out with threshold works just like age out, except that the algorithm is not
+run unless the hit rate exceeded a user-specified threshold in the previous
+epoch.
+
+In my synthetic tests, age out with threshold seems to work nicely, with no
+observed oscillation. Thus I have selected it as the default cache size
+reduction algorithm.
+
+For those interested in such things, the age out algorithm is implemented by
+inserting a marker entry at the head of the LRU list at the beginning of each
+epoch. Entries that haven't been accessed for at least n epochs are simply
+entries that appear in the LRU list after the n-th marker at the end of an
+epoch.
+
+\section configuring Configuring the New Metadata Cache
+
+Due to a lack of resources, the design work on the automatic cache size
+adjustment algorithms was done hastily, using primarily synthetic tests. I don't
+think I spent more than a couple weeks writing and running performance tests --
+most time went into coding and functional testing.
+
+As a result, while I think the algorithms provided for adaptive cache resizing
+will work well in actual use, I don't really know (although preliminary results
+from the field are promising). Fortunately, the issue shouldn't arise for the
+vast majority of HDF5 users, and those for whom it may arise should be savvy
+enough to recognize problems and deal with them.
+
+For this latter class of users, I have implemented a number of new API calls
+allowing the user to select and configure the cache resize algorithms, or to
+turn them off and control cache size directly from the user program. There are
+also API calls that allow the user program to monitor hit rate and cache size.
+
+From the user perspective, all the cache configuration data for a given file is
+contained in an instance of the \ref H5AC_cache_config_t structure -- the definition
+of which is given below:
+
+\snippet H5ACpublic.h H5AC_cache_config_t_snip
+
+This structure is defined in \c H5ACpublic.h. Each field is discussed below and in
+the associated header comment.
+
+The C API allows you to get and set this structure directly. Unfortunately, the
+Fortran API has to do this with individual parameters for each of the fields
+(with the exception of version).
+
+While the API calls are discussed individually in the reference manual, the
+following high-level discussion of what fields to change for different purposes
+should be useful.
+
+\subsection gconfig General Configuration
+
+The \c version field is intended to allow \THG to change the \c
+H5AC_cache_config_t structure without breaking old code. For now, this field
+should always be set to \c H5AC__CURR_CACHE_CONFIG_VERSION, even when you are
+getting the current configuration data from the cache. The library needs the
+version number to know where fields are located with reference to the supplied
+base address.
+
+The \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.rpt_fcn_enabled "rpt_fcn_enabled" field is a
+boolean flag that allows you to turn on and off the resize reporting function
+that reports the activities of the adaptive cache resize code at the end of each
+epoch -- assuming that it is enabled.
+
+The report function is unsupported, so you are on your own if you use it. Since
+it dumps status data to stdout, you should not attempt to use it with Windows
+unless you modify the source. You may find it useful if you want to experiment
+with different adaptive resize configurations. It is also a convenient way of
+diagnosing poor cache configuration. Finally, if you do lots of runs with
+identical behavior, you can use it to determine the metadata cache size needed
+in each phase of your program so you can set the required cache sizes manually.
+
+The trace file fields are also unsupported. They allow one to open and close a
+trace file in which all calls to the metadata cache are logged in a
+user-specified file for later analysis. The feature is intended primarily for
+THG use in debugging or optimizing the metadata cache in cases where users in
+the field observe obscure failures or poor performance that we cannot re-create
+in the lab. The trace file will allow us to re-create the exact sequence of
+cache operations that are triggering the problem.
+
+At present we do not have a playback utility for trace files, although I imagine
+that we will write one quickly when and if we need it.
+
+To enable the trace file, you load the full path of the desired trace file into
+\ref H5AC_cache_config_t.trace_file_name "trace_file_name", and set \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.open_trace_file "open_trace_file" to \c TRUE. In the
+parallel case, an ASCII representation of the rank of each process is appended
+to the supplied trace file name to create a unique trace file name for that
+process.
+
+To close an open trace file, set \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.close_trace_file
+"close_trace_file" to \c TRUE.
+
+It must be emphasized that you are on your own if you play with the trace file
+feature absent a request from \THG. Needless to say, the trace file feature is
+disabled by default. If you enable it, you will take a large performance hit and
+generate huge trace files.
+
+The \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.evictions_enabled "evictions_enabled" field is a
+boolean flag allowing the user to disable the eviction of entries from the
+metadata cache. Under normal operation conditions, this field will always be set
+to \c TRUE.
+
+In rare circumstances, the raw data throughput requirements may be so high that
+the user wishes to postpone metadata writes so as to reserve I/O throughput for
+raw data. The \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.evictions_enabled "evictions_enabled"
+field exists to allow this -- although the user is to be warned that the
+metadata cache will grow without bound while evictions are disabled. Thus
+evictions should be re-enabled as soon as possible, and it may be wise to
+monitor cache size and statistics (to see how to enable statistics, see the
+debugging facilities section below).
+
+Evictions may only be disabled when the automatic cache resize code is disabled
+as well. Thus to disable evictions, not only must the user set the \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.evictions_enabled "evictions_enabled" field to \c FALSE, but
+he must also set \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.incr_mode "incr_mode" to
+#H5C_incr__off, set \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.flash_incr_mode "flash_incr_mode"
+to #H5C_flash_incr__off, and set \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.decr_mode "decr_mode"
+to #H5C_decr__off.
+
+To re-enable evictions, just set \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.evictions_enabled
+"evictions_enabled" back to \c TRUE.
+
+Before passing on to other subjects, it is worth re-iterating that disabling
+evictions is an extreme step. Before attempting it, you might consider setting a
+large cache size manually, and flushing the cache just before high raw data
+throughput is required. This may yield the desired results without the risks
+inherent in disabling evictions.
+
+The \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.set_initial_size "set_initial_size" and \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.initial_size "initial_size" fields allow you to specify an
+initial maximum cache size. If \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.set_initial_size
+"set_initial_size" is \c TRUE, \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.initial_size
+"initial_size" must lie in the interval [\ref H5AC_cache_config_t.min_size
+"min_size", \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.max_size "max_size"] (see below for a
+discussion of the \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.min_size "min_size" and \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.max_size "max_size" fields).
+
+If you disable the adaptive cache resizing code (done by setting \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.incr_mode "incr_mode" to #H5C_incr__off, \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.flash_incr_mode "flash_incr_mode" to #H5C_flash_incr__off,
+and \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.decr_mode "decr_mode" to #H5C_decr__off), you can
+use these fields to control maximum cache size manually, as the maximum cache
+size will remain at the initial size.
+
+Note, that the maximum cache size is only modified when \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.set_initial_size "set_initial_size" is \c TRUE. This allows
+the use of configurations specified at compile time to change resize
+configuration without altering the current maximum size of the cache. Without
+this feature, an additional call would be required to get the current maximum
+cache size so as to set the \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.initial_size "initial_size"
+to the current maximum cache size, and thereby avoid changing it.
+
+The \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.min_clean_fraction "min_clean_fraction" sets the
+current minimum clean size as a fraction of the current max cache size. While
+this field was originally used only in the parallel version of the library, it
+now applies to the serial version as well. Its value must lie in the range
+\Code{[0.0, 1.0]}. 0.01 is reasonable in the serial case, and 0.3 in the
+parallel.
+
+A potential interaction, discovered at release 1.8.3, between the enforcement of
+the \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.min_clean_fraction "min_clean_fraction" and the
+adaptive cache resize code can severely degrade performance. While this
+interaction is easily dealt with in the serial case by setting \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.min_clean_fraction "min_clean_fraction" to 0.01, the problem
+is more difficult in the parallel case. Please see the Interactions section
+below for further details.
+
+The \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.max_size "max_size" and \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.min_size "min_size" fields specify the range of maximum
+sizes that may be set for the cache by the automatic resize code. \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.min_size "min_size" must be less than or equal to
+\ref H5AC_cache_config_t.max_size "max_size", and both must lie in the range
+\Code{[H5C__MIN_MAX_CACHE_SIZE, H5C__MAX_MAX_CACHE_SIZE]} -- currently [1 KB,
+128 MB]. If you routinely run a cache size in the top half of this range, you
+should increase the hash table size. To do this, modify the \c
+H5C__HASH_TABLE_LEN \Code{\#define} in \c H5Cpkg.h and re-compile. At present,
+\c H5C__HASH_TABLE_LEN must be a power of two.
+
+The \c epoch_length is the number of cache accesses between runs of the adaptive
+cache size control algorithms. It is ignored if these algorithms are turned
+off. It must lie in the range \Code{[H5C__MIN_AR_EPOCH_LENGTH,
+H5C__MAX_AR_EPOCH_LENGTH]} -- currently [100, 1000000]. The above constants are
+defined in \c H5Cprivate.h. 50000 is a reasonable value.
+
+\subsection increment Increment Configuration
+
+The \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.incr_mode "incr_mode" field specifies the cache
+size increment algorithm used. Its value must be a member of the \ref
+H5C_cache_incr_mode enum type -- currently either #H5C_incr__off or
+#H5C_incr__threshold (note the double underscores after \c "incr"). This type is
+defined in H5Cpublic.h.
+
+If \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.incr_mode "incr_mode" is set to #H5C_incr__off,
+regular automatic cache size increases are disabled, and the \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.lower_hr_threshold "lower_hr_threshold", \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.increment "increment", \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.apply_max_increment "apply_max_increment", and \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.max_increment "max_increment", fields are ignored.
+
+The \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.flash_incr_mode "flash_incr_mode" field specifies
+the flash cache size increment algorithm used. Its value must be a member of the
+\ref H5C_cache_flash_incr_mode enum type -- currently either
+#H5C_flash_incr__off or #H5C_flash_incr__add_space (note the double underscores
+after \c "incr"). This type is defined in H5Cpublic.h.
+
+If \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.flash_incr_mode "flash_incr_mode" is set to
+#H5C_flash_incr__off, flash cache size increases are disabled, and the \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.flash_multiple "flash_multiple", and \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.flash_threshold "flash_threshold", fields are ignored.
+
+\subsubsection hrtcsic Hit Rate Threshold Cache Size Increase Configuration
+
+If \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.incr_mode "incr_mode" is #H5C_incr__threshold, the
+cache size is increased via the hit rate threshold algorithm. The remaining
+fields in the section are then used as follows:
+
+\ref H5AC_cache_config_t.lower_hr_threshold "lower_hr_threshold" is the
+threshold below which the hit rate must fall to trigger an increase. The value
+must lie in the range \Code{[0.0 - 1.0]}. In my tests, a relatively high value
+seems to work best -- 0.9 for example.
+
+\ref H5AC_cache_config_t.increment "increment" is the factor by which the old
+maximum cache size is multiplied to obtain an initial new maximum cache size
+when an increment is needed. The actual change in size may be smaller as
+required by \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.max_size "max_size" (above) and \c
+max_increment (discussed below). increment must be greater than or equal to
+1.0. If you set it to 1.0, you will effectively turn off the increment code. 2.0
+is a reasonable value.
+
+\ref H5AC_cache_config_t.apply_max_increment "apply_max_increment" and \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.max_increment "max_increment" allow the user to specify a
+maximum increment. If \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.apply_max_increment
+"apply_max_increment" is \c TRUE, the cache size will never be increased by more
+than the number of bytes specified in \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.max_increment
+"max_increment" in any single increase.
+
+\subsubsection fcsic Flash Cache Size Increase Configuration
+
+If \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.flash_incr_mode "flash_incr_mode" is set to
+#H5C_flash_incr__add_space, flash cache size increases are enabled. The size of
+the cache will be increased under the following circumstances:
+
+Let \c t be the current maximum cache size times the value of the \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.flash_threshold "flash_threshold" field.
+
+Let \c x be either the size of the newly inserted entry, the size of the newly
+loaded entry, or the number of bytes added to the size of the entry under
+consideration for triggering a flash cache size increase.
+
+If \Code{t < x}, the basic condition for a flash cache size increase is met, and
+we proceed as follows:
+
+Let \c space_needed equal \c x less the amount of free space in the cache.
+
+Further, let \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.increment "increment" equal \c
+space_needed times the value of the \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.flash_multiple
+"flash_multiple" field. If \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.increment "increment" plus
+the current cache size is greater than \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.max_size
+"max_size" (discussed above), reduce \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.increment
+"increment" so that \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.increment "increment" plus the
+current cache size is equal to \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.max_size "max_size".
+
+If the increment is greater than zero, increase the current cache size by \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.increment "increment". To avoid confusing the other cache
+size increment or decrement algorithms, start a new epoch. Note, however, that
+we do not cycle the epoch markers if some variant of the age out algorithm is in
+use.
+
+The use of the \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.flash_threshold "flash_threshold" field
+is discussed above. It must be a floating-point value in the range of
+\Code{[0.1, 1.0]}. 0.25 is a reasonable value.
+
+The use of the \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.flash_multiple "flash_multiple" field is
+also discussed above. It must be a floating-point value in the range of
+\Code{[0.1, 10.0]}. 1.4 is a reasonable value.
+
+\subsection decrement Decrement Configuration
+
+The \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.decr_mode "decr_mode" field specifies the cache
+size decrement algorithm used. Its value must be a member of the \ref
+H5C_cache_decr_mode enum type -- currently either #H5C_decr__off,
+#H5C_decr__threshold, #H5C_decr__age_out, or #H5C_decr__age_out_with_threshold
+(note the double underscores after \c "decr"). This type is defined in
+H5Cpublic.h.
+
+If \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.decr_mode "decr_mode" is set to #H5C_decr__off,
+automatic cache size decreases are disabled, and the remaining fields in the
+cache size decrease control section are ignored.
+
+\subsubsection hrtcsdc Hit Rate Threshold Cache Size Decrease Configuration
+
+If \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.decr_mode "decr_mode" is #H5C_decr__threshold, the
+cache size is decreased by the threshold algorithm, and the remaining fields of
+the decrement section are used as follows:
+
+\ref H5AC_cache_config_t.upper_hr_threshold "upper_hr_threshold" is the
+threshold above which the hit rate must rise to trigger cache size reduction. It
+must be in the range \Code{[0.0, 1.0]}. In my synthetic tests, very high values
+like .9995 or .99995 seemed to work best.
+
+\ref H5AC_cache_config_t.decrement "decrement" is the factor by which the
+current maximum cache size is multiplied to obtain a tentative new maximum cache
+size. It must lie in the range \Code{[0.0, 1.0]}. Relatively large values like
+.9 seem to work best in my synthetic tests. Note that the actual size reduction
+may be smaller as required by \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.min_size "min_size" and
+\ref H5AC_cache_config_t.max_decrement "max_decrement" (discussed below). \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.apply_max_decrement "apply_max_decrement" and \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.max_decrement "max_decrement" allow the user to specify a
+maximum decrement. If \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.apply_max_decrement
+"apply_max_decrement" is \c TRUE, the cache size will never be reduced by more
+than \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.max_decrement "max_decrement" bytes in any single
+reduction.
+
+With the hit rate threshold cache size decrement algorithm, the remaining fields
+in the section are ignored.
+
+\subsubsection acsr Ageout Cache Size Reduction
+
+If \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.decr_mode "decr_mode" is #H5C_decr__age_out the
+cache size is decreased by the ageout algorithm, and the remaining fields of the
+decrement section are used as follows:
+
+\ref H5AC_cache_config_t.epochs_before_eviction "epochs_before_eviction" is the
+number of epochs an entry must reside unaccessed in the cache before it is
+evicted. This value must lie in the range \Code{[1, H5C__MAX_EPOCH_MARKERS]}. \c
+H5C__MAX_EPOCH_MARKERS is defined in H5Cprivate.h, and is currently set to 10.
+
+\ref H5AC_cache_config_t.apply_max_decrement "apply_max_decrement" and \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.max_decrement "max_decrement" are used as in section
+2.4.3.1.
+
+\ref H5AC_cache_config_t.apply_empty_reserve "apply_emty_reserve" and \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.empty_reserve "empty_reserve" allow the user to specify a
+minimum empty reserve as discussed in section 2.3.2.2. An empty reserve of 0.05
+or 0.1 seems to work well.
+
+The \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.decrement "decrement" and \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.upper_hr_threshold "upper_hr_threshold" fields are ignored
+in this case.
+
+\subsubsection awhrtcsr Ageout With Hit Rate Threshold Cache Size Reduction
+
+If \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.decr_mode "decr_mode" is
+#H5C_decr__age_out_with_threshold, the cache size is decreased by the ageout
+with hit rate threshold algorithm, and the fields of decrement section are used
+as per the Ageout algorithm (see 5.3.2) with the exception of \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.upper_hr_threshold "upper_hr_threshold".
+
+Here, \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.upper_hr_threshold "upper_hr_threshold" is the
+threshold above which the hit rate must rise to trigger cache size reduction. It
+must be in the range \Code{[0.0, 1.0]}. In my synthetic tests, high values like
+.999 seemed to work well.
+
+\subsection parallel Parallel Configuration
+
+This section is a catch-all for parallel specific configuration data. At
+present, it has only one field --
+\ref H5AC_cache_config_t.dirty_bytes_threshold "dirty_bytes_threshold".
+
+In PHDF5, all operations that modify metadata must be executed collectively. We
+used to think that this was enough to ensure consistency across the metadata
+caches, but since we allow processes to read metadata individually, the order of
+dirty entries in the LRU list can vary across processes. This, in turn, can
+change the order in which dirty metadata cache entries reach the bottom of the
+LRU and are flushed to disk -- opening the door to messages from the past and
+messages from the future bugs.
+
+To prevent this, only the metadata cache on process 0 of the file communicator
+is allowed to write to file, and then only after entering a sync point with the
+other caches. After it writes entries to file, it sends the base addresses of
+the now clean entries to the other caches, so they can mark these entries clean
+as well, and then leaves the sync point. The other caches mark the specified
+entries as clean before they leave the synch point as well. (Observe, that since
+all caches see the same stream of dirty metadata, they will all have the same
+set of dirty entries upon sync point entry and exit.)
+
+The different caches know when to synchronize by counting the number of bytes of
+dirty metadata created by the collective operations modifying metadata. Whenever
+this count exceeds the value specified in the \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.dirty_bytes_threshold "dirty_bytes_threshold", they all
+enter the sync point, and process 0 flushes down to its minimum clean size and
+sends the list of newly cleaned entries to the other caches.
+
+Needless to say, the value of the \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.dirty_bytes_threshold
+"dirty_bytes_threshold" field must be consistent across all the caches operating
+on a given file.
+
+All dirty metadata can also by flushed under programmatic control via the
+H5Fflush() call. This call must be collective and will reset the dirty data
+counts on each metadata cache.
+
+Absent calls to H5Fflush(), dirty metadata will only be flushed when the \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.dirty_bytes_threshold "dirty_bytes_threshold" is exceeded,
+and then only down to the H5AC_cache_config_t.min_clean_fraction
+"min_clean_fraction". Thus, if a program does all its metadata modifications in
+one phase, and then doesn't modify metadata thereafter, a residue of dirty
+metadata will be frozen in the metadata caches for the remainder of the
+computation -- effectively reducing the sizes of the caches.
+
+In the default configuration, the caches will eventually resize themselves to
+maintain an acceptable hit rate. However, this will take time, and it will
+increase the application's footprint in memory.
+
+If your application behaves in this manner, you can avoid this by a collective
+call to H5Fflush() immediately after the metadata modification phase.
+
+\subsection interactions Interactions
+
+Evictions may not be disabled unless the automatic cache resize code is disabled
+as well (by setting \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.decr_mode "decr_mode" to
+#H5C_decr__off, \c flash_decr_mode to #H5C_flash_incr__add_space, and \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.incr_mode "incr_mode" to #H5C_incr__off) -- thus placing the
+cache size under the direct control of the user program.
+
+There is no logical necessity for this restriction. It is imposed because it
+simplifies testing greatly and because I can't see any reason why one would want
+to disable evictions while the automatic cache size adjustment code was
+enabled. This restriction can be relaxed if anyone can come up with a good
+reason to do so.
+
+At present, there are two interactions between the increment and decrement
+sections of the configuration.
+
+If \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.incr_mode "incr_mode" is #H5C_incr__threshold, and
+\ref H5AC_cache_config_t.decr_mode "decr_mode" is either #H5C_decr__threshold or
+#H5C_decr__age_out_with_threshold, then \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.lower_hr_threshold "lower_hr_threshold" must be strictly
+less than \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.upper_hr_threshold "upper_hr_threshold".
+
+Also, if the flash cache size increment code is enabled and is triggered, it
+will restart the current epoch without calling any other cache size increment or
+decrement code.
+
+In both the serial and parallel cases, there is the potential for an interaction
+between the \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.min_clean_fraction "min_clean_fraction" and
+the cache size increment code that can severely degrade
+performance. Specifically, if the \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.min_clean_fraction
+"min_clean_fraction" is large enough, it is possible that keeping the specified
+fraction of the cache clean may generate enough flushes to seriously degrade
+performance even though the hit rate is excellent.
+
+In the serial case, this is easily dealt with by selecting a very small \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.min_clean_fraction "min_clean_fraction" -- 0.01 for example
+-- as this still avoids the "metadata blizzard" phenomenon that appears when the
+cache fills with dirty metadata and must then flush all of it before evicting an
+entry to make space for a new entry.
+
+The problem is more difficult in the parallel case, as the \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.min_clean_fraction "min_clean_fraction" is used to ensure
+that the cache contains clean entries that can be evicted to make space for new
+entries when metadata writes are forbidden -- i.e. between sync points.
+
+This issue was discovered shortly before release 1.8.3 and an automated solution
+has not been implemented. Should it become an issue for an application, try
+manually setting the cache size to ~1.5 times the maximum working set size for
+the application, and leave \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.min_clean_fraction
+"min_clean_fraction" set to 0.3.
+
+You can approximate the working set size of your application via repeated calls
+to H5Fget_mdc_size() and H5Fget_mdc_hit_rate() while running your program with
+the cache resize code enabled. The maximum value returned by H5Fget_mdc_size()
+should be a reasonable approximation -- particularly if the associated hit rate
+is good. In the parallel case, there is also an interaction between \c
+min_clean_fraction and \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.dirty_bytes_threshold
+"dirty_bytes_threshold". Absent calls to H5Fflush() (discussed above), the upper
+bound on the amount of dirty data in the metadata caches will oscillate between
+(1 - \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.min_clean_fraction "min_clean_fraction") times
+current maximum cache size, and that value plus the \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.dirty_bytes_threshold "dirty_bytes_threshold". Needless to
+say, it will be best if the \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.min_size "min_size", \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.min_clean_fraction "min_clean_fraction", and the \ref
+H5AC_cache_config_t.dirty_bytes_threshold "dirty_bytes_threshold"
+are chosen so that the cache can't fill with dirty data.
+
+\subsection defaults Default Metadata Cache Configuration
+
+Starting with release 1.8.3, HDF5 provides different default metadata cache
+configurations depending on whether the library is compiled for serial or
+parallel.
+
+The default configuration for the serial case is as follows:
+
+\code{.c}
+{
+ /* int version = */ H5C__CURR_AUTO_SIZE_CTL_VER,
+ /* hbool_t rpt_fcn_enabled = */ FALSE,
+ /* hbool_t open_trace_file = */ FALSE,
+ /* hbool_t close_trace_file = */ FALSE,
+ /* char trace_file_name[] = */ "",
+ /* hbool_t evictions_enabled = */ TRUE,
+ /* hbool_t set_initial_size = */ TRUE,
+ /* size_t initial_size = */ ( 2 * 1024 * 1024),
+ /* double min_clean_fraction = */ 0.01,
+ /* size_t max_size = */ (32 * 1024 * 1024),
+ /* size_t min_size = */ ( 1 * 1024 * 1024),
+ /* long int epoch_length = */ 50000,
+ /* enum H5C_cache_incr_mode incr_mode = */ H5C_incr__threshold,
+ /* double lower_hr_threshold = */ 0.9,
+ /* double increment = */ 2.0,
+ /* hbool_t apply_max_increment = */ TRUE,
+ /* size_t max_increment = */ (4 * 1024 * 1024),
+ /* enum H5C_cache_flash_incr_mode */
+ /* flash_incr_mode = */ H5C_flash_incr__add_space,
+ /* double flash_multiple = */ 1.4,
+ /* double flash_threshold = */ 0.25,
+ /* enum H5C_cache_decr_mode decr_mode = */ H5C_decr__age_out_with_threshold,
+ /* double upper_hr_threshold = */ 0.999,
+ /* double decrement = */ 0.9,
+ /* hbool_t apply_max_decrement = */ TRUE,
+ /* size_t max_decrement = */ (1 * 1024 * 1024),
+ /* int epochs_before_eviction = */ 3,
+ /* hbool_t apply_empty_reserve = */ TRUE,
+ /* double empty_reserve = */ 0.1,
+ /* int dirty_bytes_threshold = */ (256 * 1024)
+}
+\endcode
+
+The default configuration for the parallel case is as follows:
+
+\code{.c}
+{
+ /* int version = */ H5C__CURR_AUTO_SIZE_CTL_VER,
+ /* hbool_t rpt_fcn_enabled = */ FALSE,
+ /* hbool_t open_trace_file = */ FALSE,
+ /* hbool_t close_trace_file = */ FALSE,
+ /* char trace_file_name[] = */ "",
+ /* hbool_t evictions_enabled = */ TRUE,
+ /* hbool_t set_initial_size = */ TRUE,
+ /* size_t initial_size = */ ( 2 * 1024 * 1024),
+ /* double min_clean_fraction = */ 0.3,
+ /* size_t max_size = */ (32 * 1024 * 1024),
+ /* size_t min_size = */ ( 1 * 1024 * 1024),
+ /* long int epoch_length = */ 50000,
+ /* enum H5C_cache_incr_mode incr_mode = */ H5C_incr__threshold,
+ /* double lower_hr_threshold = */ 0.9,
+ /* double increment = */ 2.0,
+ /* hbool_t apply_max_increment = */ TRUE,
+ /* size_t max_increment = */ (4 * 1024 * 1024),
+ /* enum H5C_cache_flash_incr_mode */
+ /* flash_incr_mode = */ H5C_flash_incr__add_space,
+ /* double flash_multiple = */ 1.0,
+ /* double flash_threshold = */ 0.25,
+ /* enum H5C_cache_decr_mode decr_mode = */ H5C_decr__age_out_with_threshold,
+ /* double upper_hr_threshold = */ 0.999,
+ /* double decrement = */ 0.9,
+ /* hbool_t apply_max_decrement = */ TRUE,
+ /* size_t max_decrement = */ (1 * 1024 * 1024),
+ /* int epochs_before_eviction = */ 3,
+ /* hbool_t apply_empty_reserve = */ TRUE,
+ /* double empty_reserve = */ 0.1,
+ /* int dirty_bytes_threshold = */ (256 * 1024)
+}
+\endcode
+
+The default serial configuration should be adequate for most serial HDF5 users.
+
+The same may not be true for the default parallel configuration due to the
+interaction between the \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.min_clean_fraction "min_clean_fraction" and the cache size increase code. See
+the Interactions section for further details.
+
+Should you need to change the default configuration, it can be found in
+H5ACprivate.h. Look for the definition of H5AC__DEFAULT_RESIZE_CONFIG.
+
+\section controlling Controlling the New Metadata Cache Size From Your Program
+
+You have already seen how \ref H5AC_cache_config_t has facilities that allow you
+to control the metadata cache size directly. Use H5Fget_mdc_config() and
+H5Fset_mdc_config() to get and set the metadata cache configuration on an open
+file. Use H5Pget_mdc_config() and H5Pset_mdc_config() to get and set the initial
+metadata cache configuration in a file access property list. Recall that this
+list contains configuration data used when opening a file.
+
+Use H5Fget_mdc_hit_rate() to get the average hit rate since the last time the
+hit rate stats were reset. This happens automatically at the beginning of each
+epoch if the adaptive cache resize code is enabled. You can also do it manually
+with H5Freset_mdc_hit_rate_stats(). Be careful about doing this if the adaptive
+cache resize code is enabled, as you may confuse it.
+
+Use H5Fget_mdc_size() to get metadata cache size data on an open file.
+
+Finally, note that cache size and cache footprint are two different things -- in
+my tests, the cache footprint (as inferred from the UNIX \c top command) is
+typically about three times the maximum cache size. I haven't tracked it down
+yet, but I would guess that most of this is due to the very small typical cache
+entry size combined with the rather large size of the cache entry header
+structure. This should be investigated further, but there are other matters of
+higher priority.
+
+\section news New Metadata Cache Debugging Facilities
+
+The new metadata cache has a variety of debugging facilities that may be of
+use. I doubt that any other than the report function and the trace file will
+ever be accessible via the API, but they are relatively easy to turn on in the
+source code.
+
+Note that none of this should be viewed as supported -- it is described here on
+the off chance that you want to use it, but you are on your own if you do. Also,
+there are no promises as to consistency between versions.
+
+As mentioned above, you can use the \ref H5AC_cache_config_t.rpt_fcn_enabled "rpt_fcn_enabled" field of the
+configuration structure to enable the default reporting function
+(H5C_def_auto_resize_rpt_fcn() in H5C.c). If this function doesn't work for you,
+you will have to write your own. In particular, remember that it uses \c stdout,
+so it will probably be unhappy under Windows.
+
+Again, remember that this facility is not supported. Further, it is likely to
+change every time I do any serious work on the cache.
+
+There is also an extensive statistics collection code. Use
+H5C_COLLECT_CACHE_STATS and H5C_COLLECT_CACHE_ENTRY_STATS in H5Cprivate.h to
+turn this on. If you also turn on H5AC_DUMP_STATS_ON_CLOSE in H5ACprivate.h,
+stats will be dumped when you close a file. Alternatively you can call
+H5C_stats() and H5C_stats__reset() within the library to dump and reset
+stats. Both of these functions are defined in H5C.c.
+
+Finally, the cache also contains an extensive sanity checking code. Much of this
+is turned on when you compile in debug mode, but to enable the full suite, turn
+on H5C_DO_SANITY_CHECKS in H5Cprivate.h.
+
+\section trouble Trouble Shooting
+
+Absent major bugs in the cache, the only troubleshooting you should have to do
+is diagnosing and fixing problems with your cache configuration.
+
+Assuming it runs on your platform (I've only used it under Linux), the reporting
+function is probably the most convenient diagnosis tool. However, since it is
+unsupported code, I will not discuss it further beyond directing you to the
+source (H5C_def_auto_resize_rpt_fcn() in H5C.c).
+
+Absent the reporting function, regular calls to H5Fget_mdc_hit_rate() should
+give you a good idea of the hit rate over time. Remember that the hit rate stats
+are reset at the end of each epoch (when adaptive cache resizing is enabled), so
+you should expect some jitter.
+
+Similar calls to H5Fget_mdc_size() should allow you to monitor cache size and
+the fraction of the current maximum cache size that is actually in use.
+
+If the hit rate is consistently low, and the cache it at its current maximum
+size, increasing the maximum size is an obvious fix.
+
+If you see hit rate and cache size oscillations, try disabling adaptive cache
+resizing and setting a fixed cache size a bit greater than the high end of the
+cache size oscillations you observed.
+
+If the hit rate oscillations don't go away, you are probably looking at a
+feature of your application that can't be helped without major changes to the
+cache. Please send along a description of the situation.
+
+If the oscillations do go away, you may be able to come up with a configuration
+that deals with the situation. If that fails, control the cache size manually,
+and write to me, so I can try to develop an adaptive resize algorithm that works
+in your case.
+
+Needless to say, you should give the cache a few epochs to adapt to
+circumstances. If that is too slow for you, try manual cache size control.
+
+If you find it necessary to disable evictions, you may find it useful to enable
+the internal statistics collection code mentioned above in the section on
+debugging facilities.
+
+Amongst many other things, the stats code will report the maximum cache size,
+and the average successful and unsuccessful search depths in the hash table. If
+these latter figures are significantly above 1, you should increase the size of
+the hash table.
+
+ */ \ No newline at end of file