Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Multiprocessing is the use of two or more central processing units (CPUs) within a single computer system. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] The term also refers to the ability of a system to support more than one processor or the ability to allocate tasks between them.
A processor intended for use with multitasking operating systems may include special hardware to securely support multiple tasks, such as memory protection, and protection rings that ensure the supervisory software cannot be damaged or subverted by user-mode program errors. The term "multitasking" has become an international term, as the same ...
Massively parallel is the term for using a large number of computer processors (or separate computers) to simultaneously perform a set of coordinated computations in parallel. GPUs are massively parallel architecture with tens of thousands of threads.
The term "multiprocessor" can be confused with the term "multiprocessing". While multiprocessing is a type of processing in which two or more processors work together to execute multiple programs simultaneously, multiprocessor refers to a hardware architecture that allows multiprocessing.
Diagram of a symmetric multiprocessing system. Symmetric multiprocessing or shared-memory multiprocessing [1] (SMP) involves a multiprocessor computer hardware and software architecture where two or more identical processors are connected to a single, shared main memory, have full access to all input and output devices, and are controlled by a single operating system instance that treats all ...
The term multithreading is ambiguous, because not only can multiple threads be executed simultaneously on one CPU core, but also multiple tasks (with different page tables, different task state segments, different protection rings, different I/O permissions, etc.). Although running on the same core, they are completely separated from each other.
Since computer manufacturers have long implemented symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) designs using discrete CPUs, the issues regarding implementing multi-core processor architecture and supporting it with software are well known. Additionally: Using a proven processing-core design without architectural changes reduces design risk significantly.
The Message Passing Interface (MPI) is a portable message-passing standard designed to function on parallel computing architectures. [1] The MPI standard defines the syntax and semantics of library routines that are useful to a wide range of users writing portable message-passing programs in C, C++, and Fortran.