Traffic patterns in a scalable multiprocessor through transputer emulation

Abstract

The authors present a multiprocessor emulator designed to evaluate a scalable shared virtual memory architecture called the Data Diffusion Machine (DDM). The DDM is characterised by the lack of any fixed home location for data, with the virtual address being completely decoupled from the physical location of a datum. The authors describe the design of the emulator for the DDM and its transputer-based implementation. The emulator provides a flexible platform for evaluating the architecture and enables one to study the overall behaviour of the machine while running real, lace shared-memory applications. They present a profile of traffic observed at the controllers in the DDM hierarchy while running a variety of real shared-memory applications.<>