Silicon Graphics, Incorporated

Chris Dickson

Steven Lee Scott

Eric Carl Fromm

Michael L Anderson

Steve Reinhardt

A method of node translation for communicating over virtual channels in a clustered multiprocessor system using connection descriptors (CDs), which specify the endpoint nodes for virtual connections. The system includes a local processing element node, a remote processing element node and a network interconnect therebetween for sending communications between the processing element nodes. The method includes assigning a CD to specify an endpoint node for a virtual connection, defining a local connection table (LCT) to be accessed with the CD to produce a system node identifier (SNID) of the endpoint node, generating a communication request including the CD, accessing the LCT using the CD of that communication request to produce the SNID for the endpoint node of the connection in response to that request, and sending a memory request to the endpoint node. The memory request is sent to the local processing element node if the endpoint node is the local processing element node, and is sent over the network interconnect to the remote processing element node if the endpoint node is the remote processing element node.

Node translation and protection in a clustered multiprocessor system

A method of performing remote address translation in a multiprocessor system includes determining a connection descriptor and a virtual address at a local node, accessing a local connection table at the local node using the connection descriptor to produce a system node identifier for a remote node and a remote address space number, communicating the virtual address and remote address space number to the remote node, and translating the virtual address to a physical address at the remote node (qualified by the remote address space number). A user process running at the local node provides the connection descriptor and virtual address. The translation is performed by matching the virtual address and remote address space number with an entry of a translation-lookaside buffer (TLB) at the remote node. Performing the translation at the remote node reduces the amount of translation information needed at the local node for remote memory accesses. The method supports communication within a scalable multiprocessor, and across the machine boundaries in a cluster.

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Apple Valley, MN, United States of America

Chris Dickson