Multiprocessing

1937 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Computer multitasking

Multiprocessing

Multiprocessing refers to a computer system’s ability to support more than one process or program at the same time. Multiprocessing operating systems enable several programs to run concurrently. UNIX is one of the most widely used multiprocessing systems, but there are many others, including OS/2 for high-end personal computers and Windows NT for work groups. Multiprocessing systems are much more complicated than single-process systems because the operating system must allocate resources to competing processes in the most efficient manner. (IBM Dictionary of Computing, Tenth Edition, McGraw-Hill, (1994)).

Types of Multiprocessing

Symmetric multiprocessing refers to the processing of programs by multiple processors that share a common operating system, memory and data path. A single copy of the operating system controls all processors. Symmetric multiprocessing units of this type are also referred to as “shared everything” systems. These systems usually do not exceed 16 processors.

(Image courtesy of Sequent Manufacturing)

The most common uses of these types of systems are commercial servers of web applications such used in on line commerce. The advantages of this particular configuration are that they can be easily upgraded by the addition of more processors. These processors are available to execute any of the given processes as soon as the operating system recognizes and configures the new hardware. However, the limitations of such a configuration are that with shared memory, there is a strong emphasis on data manipulation. As each processor competes for a limited amount of shared memory, this limits the speed and up-gradability of such a system. Manufacturers must rely on the development of faster, higher capacity memory to overcome this disadvantage. Currently symmetric multiprocessing computers can address up to 14 gigabytes of physical memory and approximately 2 terabytes of storage. (Sequent Manufacturing Inc., white papers 1998)

Parallel Processing

Parallel processing is a form of information processing that emphasizes the concurrent manipulation of data elements belonging to one or more process solving a single problem. It is also referred to as a “shared nothing” system. These systems are composed of many loosely connected nodes or P/M ...

... middle of paper ...

...to produce a result from a device.

C.The number of results a device produces over a unit of time.

D.The time it takes a device to retrieve the next instruction.

E.None of the above

6.Which of the following operating systems does not support multiprocessing?

A.Microsoft Windows NT

B.UNIX

C.OS/2

D.LINUX

E.All of the above support multiprocessing.

7.Which of the following applications would benefit most by multiprocessing?

A.A large Word document.

B.A large Excel spreadsheet.

C.A video game

D.A large Multi-user Database.

E.None of the above.

8.LINUX is an off shoot of which multiprocessing operating system?

A.UNIX

B.Windows 98

C.OS/2

D.Windows NT

E.MS DOS

9.Which Pittsburgh University is currently developing new multiprocessing operating systems?

A.University of Pittsburgh.

B.Carnegie-Mellon University

C.Robert Morris College

D.Point Park College

E.None of the above

10.Linus Torvalds is:

A.The inventor of UNIX operating system

B.The chairman of the board of Microsoft Corp.

C.The inventor of LINUX operating system

D.The guy that cuts Packy’s grass.

1. (C) 2. (A) 3.(A) 4.(A) 5.(C) 6.(E) 7.(D) 8.(A) 9.(B) 10.(C)

Show More
Related

  • Nt1330 Unit 4 Fos Application

    1414 Words  | 3 Pages

    rapidly chooses how to convey the set of uses and framework servers over different machines in the cloud. Large portions of the conventional parallel applications for the most part utilize an altered number of strings on the other hand procedures characterized as a parameter toward the begin of the application. The choice for the number of strings is frequently chosen by the client in a push to completely use the parallel assets of the framework or to take care of top demand of a specific administration. fos utilizes the duplicated server model which permits extra transforming units to be alterably included amid runtime permitting the framework to attain a finer use for element workloads and lightening the client from such

    Read More

  • NT1310 Unit 4: Hardware Devices

    415 Words  | 1 Pages

    3. Multi-threading occurs when multiple programs are processed at the same time or when several parts of a program are processed at the same time.

    Read More

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Growing Up

    1343 Words  | 3 Pages

    The result of Mozart's discovered genius was not only the praise of hundreds across Europe during his childhood tour, but also the ever-watchful eye of Leopold Mozart, his ambitious and needy father. Because of Leopold's need to protect and constantly supervise his prized instrument, Mozart, Leopold grew dependent on his son and never ceased to remind Mozart of it. Eventually, like most child prodigies, the greater the parent's anxiety and the greater the pressure he puts on the child, the more internally resentful and conflicted the child becomes, stunting his transition into a grown man. In Leopold's letter to his wife and Mozart on September 25, 1777 from Salzburg, Leopold reminds Mozart to "ask for letters of recommendation and especially for a letter from the Bishop of Chiemsee." Leopold knows exactly how to reap profits and network through Mozart and doesn't fail to capitalize on that fact, even when Leopold is in Salzburg while Mozart is miles away on tour in Europe. After the tragic death of Maria Anna, Leopold Mozart's letter to his son on August 3, 1778 in Salzburg puts a large weight on Mozart, and even goes as far as to blame his son for Maria Anna's death. Realizing Mozart is no longer under strict scrutiny of a family member in close proximity, Leopold goes on to say, "rest assured, my dearest son, that if you stay away, I shall die much sooner." The situation Leopold presents his son is a complex one. Mozart is a young man seeking independence and fame now that his family is not following his every footstep, but his father has grown more dependent on Mozart than ever. Mozart is more internally conflicted between his ambitions and family obligations as ever, as he writes to his friend Abbe Bullinger on August 7, 1778: "You say that I should now think only of my father and that I should disclose all my thoughts to him with entire frankness and put my trust in him.

    Read More

  • Who Was The Best Explorer At The 3 G's: God, Gold, And Glory

    264 Words  | 1 Pages

    Christopher Columbus was the greatest explorer at the three G’s (god, gold, glory) of exploration because he did all three G’s. Christopher Columbus sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492 and landed in the Bahamas. He presented Spain on his voyages. He made four voyages. His ships were called Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria.

    Read More

  • Christopher Columbus

    670 Words  | 2 Pages

    Christopher Columbus was an Italian navigator who sailed west across the Atlantic Ocean in search for the all-water route to Asia, but instead achieved fame for making landfall in the Caribbean Sea. Columbus' plan was based in part on two major miscalculations. First, he underestimated the circumference of the world by about 25 per cent. Columbus also mistakenly believed that most of the world consisted of land rather than water. This mistake led him to conclude that Asia extended much farther east than it actually did. In 1492, Columbus embarked on his first voyage. Queen Isabella of Spain ordered that the port of Palos supply him with three ships the Pinta, the Nina, and the Santa Maria. A total of about 90 crew members sailed aboard the three ships. In addition to the officers and sailors, the expedition included a translator, three physicians, a servant for each captain, a secretary, and an accountant. On October 12, 1492, at 2:00 in the morning he spouted a small island, which he called San Salvador. In January, the Santa Maria was wrecked off the coast of Espanola. The Nina, with Columbus in command, along with the Pinta began the homeward voyage in January 1493. The storms drove the ships first to the Azores and then to Lisbon, Columbus arrived in Palos, Spain, in March. He was enthusiastically received by the Spanish Monarchs. Columbus planned immediately for a second expedition, with about 1500 men, which left Spain in September 1493. They landed on the island of Dominica, Gaudeloupe. His stop at Puerto Rico is the closest he came to setting foot on land that would later form part of the United States, the main foundation for the claim that Columbus “discovered America.”

    Read More

  • Artificial Intelligence In Prey, By Michael Crichton

    1087 Words  | 3 Pages

    Therefore, the human organism although made of multiple “swarms,” is different from other organisms or programs because of the capacity to make conclusions and make illogical and “unnatural” decisions not based on the rudimentary interworking of the brain cells. Therefore although multi agent distributed parallel processing programs, can produce emergent behavior that could possibly be equated to our illogical decisions and creativity, human behavior, although somewhat emergent, stems from a deeper consciousness not generated by the interactions of brain

    Read More

  • Effects Of Criminalization Of Homelessness

    1476 Words  | 3 Pages

    Laws that make the lives of the homeless more difficult are meant to decrease the amount of homeless people however they are counterproductive. Many of the cities enforcing these laws don’t have enough affordable housing available for the homeless. Also fines and criminal charges only make the lives of the homeless more challenging when applying for housing. Not to mention one night in jail costs on average three times as much as one night in a shelter. “The US Interagency Council on Homelessness has strongly advised local governments not to enact laws criminalizing homelessness as it fails to increase access to services and tends to create additional barriers for homeless people while also undermining the impact of service providers Building a Movement to End Homelessness).” Criminalization of the homeless sends the message to the public that homeless people are criminals and should not be helped. What needs to be understood is that

    Read More

  • Unit 5-8 Critical Thinking Essay

    1465 Words  | 3 Pages

    Parallel processing: The processing of several aspects of a problem or scene simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision.

    Read More

  • Structure of Semantic Memory

    1207 Words  | 3 Pages

    Rumelhart, D.E., Hinton, G.E., & McClelland, J.L. (1986). A General Framework for Parallel Distributed Processing. In Rumelhart, D.E., & McClelland, J.L. and the PDP Research Group (1986) Eds. Parallel Distributed Processing: Explorations in the Microstructure of Cognition. Volume 1: Foundations. MIT Press: Cambridge, MA.

    Read More

  • Virtualization Essay

    1427 Words  | 3 Pages

    Virtualization technologies provide isolation of operating systems from hardware. This separation enables hardware resource sharing. With virtualization, a system pretends to be two or more of the same system [23]. Most modern operating systems contain a simplified system of virtualization. Each running process is able to act as if it is the only thing running. The CPUs and memory are virtualized. If a process tries to consume all of the CPU, a modern operating system will pre-empt it and allow others their fair share. Similarly, a running process typically has its own virtual address space that the operating system maps to physical memory to give the process the illusion that it is the only user of RAM.

    Read More

  • Database Performance Tuning

    1067 Words  | 3 Pages

    This white paper identifies some of the considerations and techniques which can significantly improve the performance of the systems handling large amounts of data.

    Read More

  • Mozart Impact On The World

    72 Words  | 1 Pages

    During Mozart’s thirty-five years he composed over 600 works. He was an Austrian composer who was taught from his father and by the age of six was a child prodigy. Mozart’s greatest impact on world was through his music, his music helped relieve pain from disease, reducing stress level from babes, increase students’ brain power, and had such popular music that we still use till this day, it’s a form of immortality.

    Read More

  • Exploring Virtual Memory

    1713 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...n extension as easy as possible for programmers to use (Denning, 1997). Virtual memory also makes better use of memory by loading in just a few pieces. This means at any one time, only a few pieces of any given process are in memory, therefore, more processes can be maintained in memory. For virtual memory to be realistic and effectual, two ingredients are needed. First, there must be hardware support for the paging and/or segmentation scheme to be employed. Second, the operating system must include software for managing the movement of pages and/or segments between secondary memory and main memory. Virtual memory combines your computer’s RAM with temporary space on your hard disk. When RAM runs low, virtual memory moves data from RAM to a space called a paging file. Moving data to and from the paging file frees up RAM so your computer can complete its work.

    Read More

  • Process and Thread

    871 Words  | 2 Pages

    When an executable file is loaded into memory, it is called a process. A process is an instance of a program in executing. It contains its current activity, such as its program code and also the contents of the processor’s register. It generally includes the process stack, which contain temporary data, and a data section, which global variables. During runtime, it may include a heap, or dynamically allocated memory. In contrast with a program, a process is “an active entity, with a program counter specifying the next instruction to execute and a set of associated resources” (Operating System Concept 106). A process is a program that executes a single instance of a thread. Multiple threads can exist which allows more than one task to perform at a time. Multithreaded processes may share resources such as code, data, and file section. They do not share resources such as registers and stack.

    Read More

  • computer architecture

    746 Words  | 2 Pages

    In designing a computer system, architects consider five major elements that make up the system's hardware: the arithmetic/logic unit, control unit, memory, input, and output. The arithmetic/logic unit performs arithmetic and compares numerical values. The control unit directs the operation of the computer by taking the user instructions and transforming them into electrical signals that the computer's circuitry can understand. The combination of the arithmetic/logic unit and the control unit is called the central processing unit (CPU). The memory stores instructions and data.

    Read More

More about Multiprocessing

Open Document