Improving performance of bus-based multiprocessors
C. Anderson, Jean-Loup Baer · 1995
Processors have become both cheaper and faster in recent years, to the point where it has become practical to use multiple processors in a single system. An important aspect of such systems is how processors are connected to each other and to main memory. The simplest design uses a single, common bus. The main problem with single bus multiprocessors is the lack of bus bandwidth, which limits the number of processors that can be connected effectively. This dissertation addresses this problem by examining protocol improvements for single-bus multiprocessors as well as investigating the use of clustering to increase the number of processors that can be connected together effectively. We developed a subblock cache coherency protocol to enable programs to take advantage of a program's spatial locality, while av...