Abstract:
The SB-PRAM is a massively-parallel, uniform memory access (UMA) shared-memory computer. The main ideas of the design are multithreading on the instruction level, hashing...Show MoreMetadata
Abstract:
The SB-PRAM is a massively-parallel, uniform memory access (UMA) shared-memory computer. The main ideas of the design are multithreading on the instruction level, hashing of the address space, and combining in the butterfly network. We have built a first research prototype with four physical processors, and thus 128 virtual processors, to demonstrate the feasibility of the concept. The programming environment consists of a FORK compiler for specifying PRAM programs, an extended C compiler and the P4 library. The machine runs a parallel operating system which provides program execution and I/O system calls. The SB-PRAM allows for efficient programs with predictable performance. Some examples are presented. The four-processor prototype is the first step towards a 128-processor machine for which we are adapting the existing hardware.
Date of Conference: 07-10 January 1997
Date Added to IEEE Xplore: 06 August 2002
Print ISBN:0-8186-7743-0
Print ISSN: 1060-3425