SpikeInterface / SpikeInterface/spikeinterface

Total memory limitations for PCA

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concurrency
Dominant language
Python
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Forks
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Avg merge
3d 9h
Merged PRs (30d)
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Description

As request, moving this over from discussions.

This was discussed a bit more in #3722 : computing PCA metrics on analyzers with a lot of units and a lof of channels, using a high n_jobs can sometime pre-allocate a very large array that does not fit in memory.

The current job_kwargs that apply to memory limitation are, as far as I understand, only relevant when dealing with recordings.

The current fix in #3721 is to automatically throttle n_jobs to stay within memory constraints. Something else that was mentionned would be to allocate a single array to be used by multiple workers, but I believe there were concerns about concurrent access.

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Research direction

Start by reading discussion #3722 and the current fix in #3721 to understand how PCA metrics allocate memory and how recording-related job_kwargs currently behave. Clarify whether the intended result is automatic n_jobs throttling, shared-array allocation, or another approach, then verify that high-unit, high-channel analyses stay within memory constraints without unsafe concurrent access.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
machine-learning
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
30/100

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