Method and apparatus for distributing work granules among processes based on the location of data accessed in the work granules
US5892945A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 21, 1996 |
| Grant date | Apr 6, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 21, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F9/5027
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and apparatus for distributing work granules of a parent task among processes running on various nodes in a multi-processing computer system is provided. The parent task is divided into work granules of varying sizes based on the location of the data that must be accessed to perform the work granules. At least one process on each of the nodes that will be assisting in the execution of the parent task is initially assigned a work granule based on efficiency considerations. Such efficiency considerations may include, for example, the location of the data to be accessed relative to the process, the current I/O load of the devices on which data to be accessed is stored, and the relative sizes of the various work granules. When a process completes the work granule assigned to it, the process is assigned one of the remaining unassigned work granules. Again the work granule assignment is made based on efficiency considerations. This process continues until all of the work granules have been completed.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.