The use of a synchronizer yields maximum computation rate in distributed networks
Shimon Even, Sergio Rajsbaum · 1990
In a previous paper we analyzed the performance of networks with negligible transmission delay, who~ operation is controlled by a simple synchronizer.It was shown that full speed is achieved, for any wake-up pattern, by letting the netwonk run free, without the use of a "firing squad" mechanism or a scheduler.In this paper we investigate the effect of fixed delays in the communication channels on the performance of a netwo~ in which there is a global clock, but there is no global start-up signal.We show that here too, maximum rate of computation is always reached, just by using the synchronizer and letting the network run free.To a certain extent, the wake-up pattern may influence the length of the transitory stage and the periodicity of the steady state, but not the ultimate rate.