Fast Sorting Algorithms using AVX-512 on Intel Knights Landing

04/24/2017

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by   Berenger Bramas, et al.

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This paper describes fast sorting techniques using the recent AVX-512 instruction set. Our implementations benefit from the latest possibilities offered by AVX-512 to vectorize a two-parts hybrid algorithm: we sort the small arrays using a branch- free Bitonic variant, and we provide a vectorized partitioning kernel which is the main component of the well-known Quicksort. Our algorithm sorts in-place and is straightforward to implement thanks to the new instructions. Meanwhile, we also show how an algorithm can be adapted and implemented with AVX-512. We report a performance study on the Intel KNL where our approach is faster than the GNU C++ sort algorithm for any size in both integer and double floating-point arithmetics by a factor of 4 in average.