TAC: Cache-Based System for Accelerating Billion-Scale GNN Training on Multi-GPU Platform

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Authors: Zhiqiang Liang, Hongyu Gao, Jue Wang, Fang Liu, Xingguo Shi, Junyu Gu, Peng Di, Sian Li, Lei Tang, Chunbao Zhou, Lian Qing Zhao, Yangang Wang
+1 more Xuebin Chi
Cited by: 0
References: 21

Abstract

Graph neural networks (GNNs) have been proven to have increasingly widespread applications in the real world. In the mainstream mini-batch training mode, multiple cache-based GNN training acceleration systems have been proposed because of the possibility of selecting the same vertex multiple times during the sampling process. However, on ultra-large scale graphs, especially those exhibiting power-law characteristics, these systems are difficult to fully utilize the distribution characteristics of cached data, which limits training performance. To this end, we propose TAC, a GNN training acceleration system that fully exploits the distribution characteristics of cached data to optimize both data transmission and computational efficiency. Specifically, we have designed a data affinity optimization algorithm that significantly enhances the locality of cache access. Secondly, an adaptive sparse matrix operator for sparsity perception is proposed, which dynamically selects the optimal computing mode based on the location of data. Finally, we have constructed a fine-grained training pipeline that maximizes system parallelism by hiding the sampling and computation. The experimental results show that TAC significantly outperforms existing state-of-the-art cache acceleration systems on multiple benchmark datasets, demonstrating higher training efficiency.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Graph Theory and Algorithms Parallel Computing and Optimization Techniques Advanced Graph Neural Networks

Publication details

Journal / source
ACM SIGPLAN Symposium on Principles and Practice of Parallel Programming
Pages
577–590
Publication date
28 January 2026