README > CUTLASS Utilities
Note: This document discusses utilities commonly used with code that targets CUTLASS 2.x.
Although CUTLASS 3.0's primary entry point APIs do not transact in these cutlass::*
tensor types anymore,
users can still find them convenient for managing allocations with trivial affine layouts.
For more advanced host side tensor management, cute::Tensor
s
can be used on either host or device for any memory space and full expressive power of
cute::Layout
s.
CUTLASS utilities are additional template classes that facilitate recurring tasks. These are flexible implementations of needed functionality, but they are not expected to be efficient.
Applications should configure their builds to list /tools/util/include
in their include
paths.
Source code is in /tools/util/include/cutlass/util/
.
To allocate a tensor with storage in both host and device memory, use HostTensor
in
cutlass/util/host_tensor.h
template <typename Element, typename Layout>
class HostTensor;
This class is compatible with all CUTLASS numeric data types and layouts.
Example: column-major matrix storage of single-precision elements.
#include <cutlass/layout/matrix.h>
#include <cutlass/util/host_tensor.h>
int main() {
int rows = 32;
int columns = 16;
cutlass::HostTensor<float, cutlass::layout::ColumnMajor> tensor({rows, columns});
return 0;
}
Internal host-side storage may be accessed via the following methods.
float *host_ptr = tensor.host_data();
cutlass::TensorRef<float, cutlass::layout::ColumnMajor> host_ref = tensor.host_ref();
cutlass::TensorView<float, cutlass::layout::ColumnMajor> host_view = tensor.host_view();
Device memory may be accessed similarly.
float *device_ptr = tensor.device_data();
cutlass::TensorRef<float, cutlass::layout::ColumnMajor> device_ref = tensor.device_ref();
cutlass::TensorView<float, cutlass::layout::ColumnMajor> device_view = tensor.device_view();
Printing to human-readable CSV output is accoplished with std::ostream::operator<<()
defined in
cutlass/util/tensor_view_io.h
.
Note, this assumes all views refer to host memory.
#include <cutlass/util/tensor_view_io.h>
int main() {
// Obtain a TensorView into host memory
cutlass::TensorView<float, cutlass::layout::ColumnMajor> view = tensor.host_view();
// Print to std::cout
std::cout << view << std::endl;
return 0;
}
Host and device memory must be explicitly synchronized by the application.
float idx = 0;
for (int i = 0; i < rows; ++i) {
for (int j = 0; j < columns; ++j) {
// Write the element at location {i, j} in host memory
tensor.host_ref().at({i, j}) = idx;
idx += 0.5f;
}
}
// Copy host memory to device memory
tensor.sync_device();
// Obtain a device pointer usable in CUDA kernels
float *device_ptr = tensor.device_data();
HostTensor<>
is usable by all CUTLASS layouts including interleaved layouts.
int rows = 4;
int columns = 3;
cutlass::HostTensor<float, cutlass::layout::ColumnMajorInterleaved<4>> tensor({rows, columns});
for (int i = 0; i < rows; ++i) {
for (int j = 0; j < columns; ++j) {
// Write the element at location {i, j} in host memory
tensor.host_ref().at({i, j}) = float(i) * 1.5f - float(j) * 2.25f;
}
}
std::cout << tensor.host_view() << std::endl;
To strictly allocate memory on the device using the smart pointer pattern to manage allocation and deallocation,
use cutlass::DeviceAllocation<>
.
Example: allocating an array in device memory.
#include <cutlass/layout/matrix.h>
#include <cutlass/layout/tensor_view.h>
#include <cutlass/util/device_memory.h>
__global__ void kernel(float *device_ptr) {
}
int main() {
size_t N = 1024;
cutlass::DeviceAllocation<float> device_alloc(N);
// Call a CUDA kernel passing device memory as a pointer argument
kernel<<< grid, block >>>(alloc.get());
if (cudaGetLastError() != cudaSuccess) {
return -1;
}
// Device memory is automatically freed when device_alloc goes out of scope
return 0;
}
CUTLASS defines several utility functions to initialize tensors to uniform, procedural, or randomly generated elements. These have implementations using strictly host code and implementations using strictly CUDA device code.
TensorFill()
for uniform elements throughout a tensor.
#include <cutlass/layout/matrix.h>
#include <cutlass/util/reference/host/tensor_fill.h>
#include <cutlass/util/reference/device/tensor_fill.h>
#include <cutlass/util/host_tensor.h>
int main() {
int rows = 128;
int columns = 64;
float x = 3.14159f;
cutlass::HostTensor<float, cutlass::layout::ColumnMajor> tensor({rows, columns});
// Initialize in host memory
cutlass::reference::host::TensorFill(tensor.host_view(), x);
// Initialize in device memory
cutlass::reference::device::TensorFill(tensor.device_view(), x);
return 0;
}
TensorFillRandomUniform()
for initializing elements to a random uniform distribution.
The device-side implementation uses CURAND to generate random numbers.
#include <cutlass/layout/matrix.h>
#include <cutlass/util/reference/host/tensor_fill.h>
#include <cutlass/util/reference/device/tensor_fill.h>
#include <cutlass/util/host_tensor.h>
int main() {
int rows = 128;
int columns = 64;
double maximum = 4;
double minimum = -4;
uint64_t seed = 0x2019;
cutlass::HostTensor<float, cutlass::layout::ColumnMajor> tensor({rows, columns});
// Initialize in host memory
cutlass::reference::host::TensorFillRandomUniform(
tensor.host_view(),
seed,
maximum,
minimum);
// Initialize in device memory
cutlass::reference::device::TensorFillRandomUniform(
tensor.device_view(),
seed,
maximum,
minimum);
return 0;
}
TensorFillRandomGaussian()
for initializing elements to a random gaussian distribution.
The device-side implementation uses CURAND to generate random numbers.
#include <cutlass/layout/matrix.h>
#include <cutlass/util/reference/host/tensor_fill.h>
#include <cutlass/util/reference/device/tensor_fill.h>
#include <cutlass/util/host_tensor.h>
int main() {
int rows = 128;
int columns = 64;
double mean = 0.5;
double stddev = 2.0;
uint64_t seed = 0x2019;
cutlass::HostTensor<float, cutlass::layout::ColumnMajor> tensor({rows, columns});
// Initialize in host memory
cutlass::reference::host::TensorFillRandomGaussian(
tensor.host_view(),
seed,
mean,
stddev);
// Initialize in device memory
cutlass::reference::device::TensorFillRandomGaussian(
tensor.device_view(),
seed,
mean,
stddev);
return 0;
}
Each of these functions accepts an additional argument to specify how many bits of the mantissa less than 1 are non-zero. This simplifies functional comparisons when exact random distributions are not necessary, since elements may be restricted to integers or values with exact fixed-point representations.
#include <cutlass/layout/matrix.h>
#include <cutlass/util/reference/host/tensor_fill.h>
#include <cutlass/util/reference/device/tensor_fill.h>
#include <cutlass/util/host_tensor.h>
int main() {
int rows = 128;
int columns = 64;
double mean = 0.5;
double stddev = 2.0;
uint64_t seed = 0x2019;
int bits_right_of_binary_decimal = 2;
cutlass::HostTensor<float, cutlass::layout::ColumnMajor> tensor({rows, columns});
// Initialize in host memory
cutlass::reference::host::TensorFillRandomGaussian(
tensor.host_view(),
seed,
mean,
stddev,
bits_right_of_binary_decimal);
// Initialize in device memory
cutlass::reference::device::TensorFillRandomGaussian(
tensor.device_view(),
seed,
mean,
stddev,
bits_right_of_binary_decimal);
return 0;
}
These utilities may be used for all data types.
Example: random half-precision tensor with Gaussian distribution.
#include <cutlass/numeric_types.h>
#include <cutlass/layout/matrix.h>
#include <cutlass/util/reference/host/tensor_fill.h>
#include <cutlass/util/reference/device/tensor_fill.h>
#include <cutlass/util/host_tensor.h>
int main() {
int rows = 128;
int columns = 64;
double mean = 0.5;
double stddev = 2.0;
uint64_t seed = 0x2019;
// Allocate a column-major tensor with half-precision elements
cutlass::HostTensor<cutlass::half_t, cutlass::layout::ColumnMajor> tensor({rows, columns});
// Initialize in host memory
cutlass::reference::host::TensorFillRandomGaussian(
tensor.host_view(),
seed,
mean,
stddev);
// Initialize in device memory
cutlass::reference::device::TensorFillRandomGaussian(
tensor.device_view(),
seed,
mean,
stddev);
return 0;
}
CUTLASS defines reference implementations usable with all data types and layouts. These are used throughout the unit tests.
Example: Reference GEMM implementation with mixed precision internal computation.
#include <cutlass/numeric_types.h>
#include <cutlass/layout/matrix.h>
#include <cutlass/util/host_tensor.h>
#include <cutlass/util/reference/host/gemm.h>
int main() {
int M = 64;
int N = 32;
int K = 16;
float alpha = 1.5f;
float beta = -1.25f;
cutlass::HostTensor<cutlass::half_t, cutlass::layout::ColumnMajor> A({M, K});
cutlass::HostTensor<cutlass::half_t, cutlass::layout::ColumnMajor> B({K, N});
cutlass::HostTensor<cutlass::half_t, cutlass::layout::ColumnMajor> C({M, N});
cutlass::reference::host::Gemm<
cutlass::half_t, cutlass::layout::ColumnMajor, // ElementA and LayoutA
cutlass::half_t, cutlass::layout::ColumnMajor, // ElementB and LayoutB
cutlass::half_t, cutlass::layout::ColumnMajor, // ElementC and LayoutC
float, // scalar type (alpha and beta)
float> gemm_op; // internal accumulation type
gemm_op(
{M, N, K}, // problem size
alpha, // alpha scalar
A.host_view(), // TensorView to host memory
B.host_view(), // TensorView to host memory
beta, // beta scalar
C.host_view(), // TensorView to host memory
D.host_view()); // TensorView to device memory
return 0;
}
CUTLASS provides a built-in tool called synclog
that enables printing runtime information useful for debugging asynchronous CUTLASS kernels. With the introduction of Warp Specialization in CUTLASS 3.0 for Hopper GPUs, kernel designs now incorporate synchronization among warps. The synclog
tool simplifies debugging efforts for these asynchronous programs by recording and displaying timing information for synchronization events.
To enable synclog
, add the -DCUTLASS_ENABLE_SYNCLOG=1 flag during compilation. From the CUTLASS root directory:
$ mkdir build && cd build &&
$ cmake .. -DCUTLASS_NVCC_ARCHS=90a -DCUTLASS_ENABLE_SYNCLOG=1
After enabling synclog
, build your CUTLASS example. For instance, to build example 54:
$ cd examples/54_hopper_fp8_warp_specialized_gemm
$ make
Run the example, setting the profiling iteration count to 0 to ensure synclog
information is printed only for the reference run:
$ ./54_hopper_fp8_warp_specialized_gemm --iterations=0 &> synclog.txt
The synclog.txt file will contain runtime information about synchronization events. Here's a sample output snippet:
synclog start
synclog at 1: cluster_barrier_init line=281 time=1725400116233388736 thread=0,0,0 block=0,0,0 smem_addr=197632 arrive_count=1
synclog at 13: fence_barrier_init line=583 time=1725400116233388768 thread=32,0,0 block=0,0,0
...
Each line in the main body follows this format:
synclog at [synclog_at]: [header] line=[line] thread=[threadIdx.xyz] block=[blockIdx.xyz]
synclog at
: Address in thesynclog
output buffer (in bytes). Output exceeding 2^26 bytes is discarded.header
: Name of the synchronization event.line
: Code line number of the synchronization operation calling intosynclog
.
Additional information may appear at the end of each line, such as shared memory address, phase bit, and arrive count. For more detailed information on synclog
output, refer to synclog.hpp in the CUTLASS source code.
Please note that synclog
is an experimental feature, and its functionality is not always guaranteed. We encourage its use in custom kernels and CUTLASS examples, though it is known to be incompatible with profiler kernels.
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