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A Distributed Shared-Memory System on a Workstation Cluster Using Fast Serial Links

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Abstract

In this paper, a fast serial link, Serial Transparent Asynchronous First-in First-out Link (STAFF-Link), is introduced. Using such links, we construct a parallel processing system based on a workstation cluster. The workstation cluster implements a distributed sharedmemory mechanism for inter-process communication using a software controlled cache using a STAFF-Link router board. The board has a chained multicast capability with which we have implemented efficient invalidation protocol based on Eager Release Consistency (ERC) model in the DSM system. Performance results on several application programs from the SPLASH2 benchmark suites have been measured.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Computer Information and Communication Sciences, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Japan

    Hironori Nakajo

  2. Department of Computer and Systems Engineering, Kobe University, Japan

    Akihiro Ichikawa & Yukio Kaneda

Authors
  1. Hironori Nakajo
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  2. Akihiro Ichikawa
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  3. Yukio Kaneda
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Nakajo, H., Ichikawa, A. & Kaneda, Y. A Distributed Shared-Memory System on a Workstation Cluster Using Fast Serial Links. International Journal of Parallel Programming 28, 179–194 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007548216327

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007548216327

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