Method and apparatus for a directory-less memory access protocol in a distributed shared memory computer system
US5873117A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 1, 1996 |
| Grant date | Feb 16, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 1, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F12/0826
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method in a computer network having a first plurality of nodes coupled to a common network infrastructure and a distributed shared memory distributed among the first plurality of nodes for servicing a first memory access request by a first node of the computer network pertaining to a memory block having a home node different from the first node in the computer network. The computer network has no natural ordering mechanism and natural broadcast for servicing memory access requests from the plurality of nodes. The home node has no centralized directory for tracking states of the memory block in the plurality of nodes. The method includes the step of receiving via the common network infrastructure at the home node from the first node the first memory access request for the memory block. There is also included the step of sending, if the home node does not have a first valid copy of the memory block, a request from the home node to a second plurality of nodes in the computer network to request a second node in the computer network to send the first valid copy of the memory block to the first node. The second plurality of nodes represents the first plurality of nodes excepting the fi…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.