Parallel Computer Architecture

CHAPTER 1 Introduction

surveyed in this introductory chapter are constructed from primitive network trans-

actions. Then the chapter studies the design of the node-to-network interface in

depth using a spectrum of case studies.

Chapters 8 and 9 go deeply into the design of scalable machines supporting a

shared address space, both a shared physical address space and a shared virtual

address space upon independent physical address spaces. The central issue is auto-

matic replication of data while preserving a consistent view of memory and avoiding

performance bottlenecks. The study of a global physical address space emphasizes

hardware organization ...