| From: | Mike Elkins <MikeE@*********.com> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Parallel systems (was Re: Maul the Decker) |
| Date: | Mon, 30 Sep 1996 17:25:49 -0500 |
>I'm trying to duplicate.
Some terminology so we are talking about the same things: (technically incorrect
but close enough for SR)
Parallel Processing: having more than one computer "brain" doing different
things
at once, or different parts of the same problem.
Massively Parallel Processing: having thousands of little computer "brains"
working on little tiny pieces of the problem all at once.
Most SR hosts are already definitely parallel processors. Tasks and programs get
shuffled around the available processors at blinding speed so that everything
happens as fast as possible. More processors just means more MIPS, more or
less. Until you get to the MPP stage...
A "normal" system would look up a word by scanning through the dictionary like
you or I would, bbut a massively parallel system would be like handing out one
definition to each of a thousand students in a lecture hall, and then saying "Will
the person with the word "cat" please read its definition." For problems
that can
be chopped up that way, it can be MUCH faster, but your average utility or ICE
just wont benefit.
Here's an idea for a decker mind-twist: They deck into a MPP host. As soon as
some ICE gets triggered, its icon is Army Ants. There are thousands of rating
1/10th ICE programs swarming over every inch of memory. You can kill as many
as you want, but it won't do you any good... Such a weird setup would have to
have some weird limitations that someone who expected it could exploit, but
standard programs might just be useless.
Double-Domed Mike
