Patent · US Expired

Computer with multiple processors having varying priorities for access to a multi-element memory

US5133059A · kind A · utility

52Cited by
17References
14Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJan 10, 1991
Grant dateJul 21, 1992
Priority date
Expiry dateJan 10, 2011

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F13/18
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A parallel processing computer is disclosed in which a plurality of memory elements (e.g., caches) are accessable by a plurality of processors, and in which a fixed access priority for the processors is varied periodically to reduce differences in processing times between the processors in applications where memory access conflicts occur. The variation in priority is done infrequently enough so as not to disturb the ability of the system to avoid memory access conflicts by falling into a "lockstep" condition, in which the fixed priority combined with a selected interleaving of the memory elements produces a memory access pattern that, for certain memory strides, produces no memory access conflicts.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.