Performance evaluation: integrating techniques and tools into environments and frameworks

The techniques and tools that have been developed for the performance evaluation of parallel and distributed computing systems are manifold. This is appealing, since no single technique or tool will be sufficient. However there is a lack of integration of tools in the form of environments and frameworks, which hinders the development of well-defined methodologies for obtaining optimal performance and answering users´ performance questions. This roundtable considers the issues surrounding tool integration and interoperability. Perhaps the dominant issue is whether this area is mature enough for prescribed frameworks to be successfully implemented and consistently adhered to: should the focus be on making sure each tool works, or can it shift to making sure tools can work together? The participants address the advantages and disadvantages, practicalities, recent history, and future of tool integration in high-performance computing