Better per-CPU variables [LWN.net]

Better per-CPU variables

Posted Nov 22, 2007 7:52 UTC (Thu) by eduperez (guest, #11232)
In reply to: Better per-CPU variables by giraffedata
Parent article: Better per-CPU variables

One of the great advantages of multiprocessor computers is the fact that main memory is available to all processors on the system.

> That's like saying one of the great advantages of a lamp is that it illuminates things. It's not just a great advantage, it's the definition. What would make a system in which the various processors have separate memory a multiprocessor system?

I think ms was talking about NUMA architectures.

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Better per-CPU variables

Posted Nov 23, 2007 6:28 UTC (Fri) by giraffedata (subscriber, #1954) [Link]

I think ms was talking about NUMA architectures.

Everything ms says, and everything the article says, is applicable to to all multiprocessor systems, NUMA and non-NUMA alike. They all have shared memory and they all have difficulty because of that.

NUMA shares memory in a way that strikes a different balance between the difficulties and the advantages of shared memory than other multiprocessor systems, but it remains a defining characteristic, not just an incidental feature, of multiprocessor systems that they have shared memory.