105. LCORES
The LCORES parameter may be used to perform parallel solves of linear programs on multiple-cored machines. One of four different linear solvers is chosen for each core. Assignment of solvers to cores is controlled by the LCORE1 - LCORE4 parameters (see below). LINGO will take the solution from the solver that finishes first and then interrupt the remaining solver threads.
The idea behind this approach is that different linear solvers will have relatively better or worse performance on different classes of models. However, it may be difficult to predict beforehand the solver that is most likely to outperform. So, by enabling multi-core solves, you guarantee that you will always get top performance, even without knowledge beforehand of which solver is likely to run the fastest.
Note: | The multi-core feature requires that your machine have at least one core free for each solver you wish to run. Using this feature with an inadequate number of cores will tend to decrease overall performance. |
For the LCORES parameter, you have the following choices: 1, 2, 3, or 4. When the default 1 option is selected, the multi-core feature is disabled, and LINGO will run only one solver on linear programs, namely the one specified as part of the SOLVEL option detailed above. When either option 2, 3, or 4 is selected, LINGO will run linear solvers in the requested number of cores. The choice of the actual solvers used is controlled by the LCORE1 - LCORE4 parameters (see below).