Controller smooths data flow through multiprocessor systems
G. McAlpine, W.J. Mclain, G.B. Feldkamp · OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) · 1982
A major challenge confronting multiprocessor system designers is to find a way of handling data flow among the specialised pieces of equipment. Five major potential bottlenecks are host computing time, control time, data movement, memory size and speed, and system expansion. One effective solution is to relieve the host computer of the details of the control and data functions, thus allowing the host to spend minimal time overseeing system operations. These detailed functions can be delegated to a multiprocessor controller called the DPS (dimensional processing system). In addition to allowing all high-speed operations to be run at full speed, the DPS can keep a number of data streams moving at a maximum rate of 24 mbytes per second.