System and method for determining which processor is the master processor in a symmetric multi-processor environment
US6178445A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 31, 1998 |
| Grant date | Jan 23, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 31, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F11/1417
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A system and method for determining which processor is to be the master processor in a symmetric multi-processor (SMP) environment. The determination is made by boot-level code, i.e. the software program which executes first in a processor after it is brought on-line. Each processor in the SMP system is brought on-line independently of the other processors in the system, and each processor in the system can uniquely identify itself. As a processor comes on-line, it checks to see if a master processor has already been designated. If not, the processor checks to see if another processor, with a higher priority identifier, has identified itself as a working processor. If so, the processor commits to being a slave processor. If not, the processor indicates that it is available to be the master processor. A further check is made to ensure that only one processor has indicated that it is available to become the master processor. The likelihood that a particular processor will become the master processor may be increased or decreased by changing the processor's unique identifier. Thus, the system and method is controllable and changeable, without the need for any special or dedicated hard…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.