Article

Exploiting the Capabilities of Communications Co-Processors

Authors:

Klaus E. Schauser,

Chris J. Scheiman,

J. Mitchell Ferguson,

Paul Z. KolanoAuthors Info & Claims

IPPS '96: Proceedings of the 10th International Parallel Processing Symposium

Pages 109 - 115

Published: 15 April 1996 Publication History

Abstract

Communications coprocessors (CCPs) have become commonplace in modern massively parallel processors (MPPs) and networks of workstations. These coprocessors provide dedicated hardware support for fast communication. In this paper, we study how to exploit the capabilities of CCPs for executing user-level message handlers. We show, in the context of active messages and Split-C, that we can move message handling code to the coprocessor, thus freeing the main processor for computational work. We address the important issues that arise, such as synchronization, and the limited computational power and flexibility of CCPs. We have implemented coprocessor versions of both active messages and Split-C. These implementations, developed on the Meiko CS-2, provide us with an excellent experimental platform to evaluate the benefits of a communications coprocessor architecture.

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Cited By

Scheiman CSchauser K(1999)Evaluating the Benefits of Communication CoprocessorsJournal of Parallel and Distributed Computing10.1006/jpdc.1998.152857:2(236-256)Online publication date: 1-May-1999
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1006/jpdc.1998.1528
Haake BSchauser KScheiman CClayton B(1996)Profiling a parallel language based on fine-grained communicationProceedings of the 1996 ACM/IEEE conference on Supercomputing10.1145/369028.369063(17-es)Online publication date: 17-Nov-1996
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/369028.369063
Krishnamurthy ASchauser KScheiman CWang RCuller DYelick K(1996)Evaluation of architectural support for global address-based communication in large-scale parallel machinesACM SIGPLAN Notices10.1145/248209.23714731:9(37-48)Online publication date: 1-Sep-1996
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/248209.237147
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Published In

cover image Guide Proceedings

IPPS '96: Proceedings of the 10th International Parallel Processing Symposium

April 1996

851 pages

ISBN:0818672552

Copyright © Copyright (c) 1996 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. All rights reserved.

Publisher

IEEE Computer Society

United States

Publication History

Published: 15 April 1996

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Cited By

Scheiman CSchauser K(1999)Evaluating the Benefits of Communication CoprocessorsJournal of Parallel and Distributed Computing10.1006/jpdc.1998.152857:2(236-256)Online publication date: 1-May-1999
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1006/jpdc.1998.1528
Haake BSchauser KScheiman CClayton B(1996)Profiling a parallel language based on fine-grained communicationProceedings of the 1996 ACM/IEEE conference on Supercomputing10.1145/369028.369063(17-es)Online publication date: 17-Nov-1996
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/369028.369063
Krishnamurthy ASchauser KScheiman CWang RCuller DYelick K(1996)Evaluation of architectural support for global address-based communication in large-scale parallel machinesACM SIGPLAN Notices10.1145/248209.23714731:9(37-48)Online publication date: 1-Sep-1996
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/248209.237147
Krishnamurthy ASchauser KScheiman CWang RCuller DYelick K(1996)Evaluation of architectural support for global address-based communication in large-scale parallel machinesACM SIGOPS Operating Systems Review10.1145/248208.23714730:5(37-48)Online publication date: 1-Sep-1996
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/248208.237147
Krishnamurthy ASchauser KScheiman CWang RCuller DYelick KDally BEggets S(1996)Evaluation of architectural support for global address-based communication in large-scale parallel machinesProceedings of the seventh international conference on Architectural support for programming languages and operating systems10.1145/237090.237147(37-48)Online publication date: 1-Oct-1996
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/237090.237147

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