Multiprocessor System Architectures: A Technical Survey of Multiprocessor/Multithreaded Systems Using Sparc, Multilevel Bus Architectures and Solari

This comprehensive survey of the technology used to design high-performance multiprocessing systems is a valuable reference for design engineers and a hands-on design guide. Intended for hardware and software engineers, it clearly explains the architectural components driving the next generation of multiprocessing and multithreading architectures from Sun Microsystems, Inc.
The first book to cover new technology in the area of packet-switched buses and multithreaded application environments integrated in the design of multiprocessor systems. It brings together in one volume a coherent description of the problems and solutions unique to the design and development of multiprocessor systems.
The book reviews design considerations associated with multiprocessor systems and presents practical solutions; provides an indepth study on the Scalable Processor ARChitecture (SPARC); introduces and details multi-level bus architectures including MBus and XBus/XDBus; details components of the SunSoft SunOS two-level multithreaded architecture such as threads, lightweight processes, synchronization, scheduling, preemption and real-time facilities; introduces multithreaded programming with code examples; examines several multiprocessor system implementations by highlighting tightly coupled, shared-memory model architectures and multi-level bus implementations; and provides the latest MBus specification and MBus Design Guide needed for the design of MBus based systems.

This book provides a comprehensive technical survey of the technology that is used in the design of high-performance multiprocessing systems using SPARC, MBus and Solaris (SunOS 5.x -SVR4). It provides an overview of SPARC architecture, including architecture conformance, semi-conductor technology scalability, multiprocessor support, as well as system level resources, SPARC multi-level Bus architectures -- MBus and XBus, multiprocessor system design and simulation, and multiprocessor software.