Evolution of an Operating System for Large-Scale Shared-Memory Multiprocessors
Abstract
Scalable shared-memory multiprocessors (those with non-uniform memory access times) are among the most flexible architectures for high-performance parallel computing, admitting efficient implementations of a wide range of process models, communication mechanisms, and granularities of parallelism. Such machines present opportunities for general-purpose parallel computing that cannot be exploited by existing operating systems, because the traditional approach to operating system design presents a virtual machine in which the definition of process, communication, and grain size are outside the control of the user. Psyche is an operating system designed to enable the most effective use possible of large-scale shared memory multiprocessors. The Psyche project is characterized by (1) a design that permits the implementation of multiple models of parallelism, both within and among applications, (2) the ability to trade protection for performance, with information sharing as the default, rather than the exception, (3) explicit, user-level control of process structure and scheduling, and (4) a kernel implementation that uses shared memory itself, and that provides users with the illusion of uniform memory access times. (kr)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA213912
Entities
People
- Brian D. Marsh
- Michael L. Scott
- Thomas J. Leblanc
Organizations
- University of Rochester