Patent · US Expired

Data processing system with synchronization coprocessor for multiple threads

US5560029A · kind A · utility

127Cited by
11References
5Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMay 31, 1994
Grant dateSep 24, 1996
Priority date
Expiry dateMay 31, 2014

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F9/3851
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A multiprocessor system comprises a plurality of processing nodes, each node processing multiple threads of computation. Each node includes a data processor which sequentially processes blocks of code, each block defining a thread of computation. The code includes instructions to send start messages with data values to start new threads of computation. Each node also includes a synchronization coprocessor for processing start messages from the same and other nodes of the system. The coprocessor processes the messages from a message queue to store values as operands for threads of computation, to determine when all operands required for a thread of computation have been received and to provide in a continuation queue an indication to the data processor that a thread of computation may be initiated. The data processor subsequently nonsynchronously initiates the thread of computation. Alternatively, a single processor may perform the continuation and message processing functions in an interleaved sequence. The data processor creates messages to remote nodes using a global virtual address which is translated before transmission to a node designation and a local virtual address at the r…

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