A computer
with multiple processors that can all be run simultaneously on parts of
the same problem to reduce the solution time. The term is nowadays
mostly reserved for those MASSIVELY PARALLEL computers with hundreds or
thousands of processors that are used in science and engineering to
tackle enormous computational problems.There
are two fundamental divisions in parallel computer architecture. The
first is between those architectures in which each processor has it own memory
space and communicates with others by MESSAGE PASSING, and those
architectures in which all the processors communicate through a shared
memory (SHARED-MEMORY MULTIPROCESSORS). The increasing number of
high-end PCs and servers that contain more than one processor fall into
this latter category.
The
other fundamental division is between those computer architectures in
which each processor executes the same program on a different data item
(SINGLE-INSTRUCTION MULTIPLE-DATA or SIMD)and those in which each
processor executes a different program (MIMD or multiple-instruction
multiple-data). Within these subdivisions, the processors can be
connected together in many different ways (their TOPOLOGY) which
profoundly affect the efficiency of communication between them.
Chapter : Introduction to Computer
- Computer Fundamental
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