초록 ▼

An information processing network includes multiple processing devices, a main storage memory, and an interface coupling the processing devices to the main storage memory. All processing devices contend for control of the interface on an equal basis, subject to a dynamically shifting sequence of pri

An information processing network includes multiple processing devices, a main storage memory, and an interface coupling the processing devices to the main storage memory. All processing devices contend for control of the interface on an equal basis, subject to a dynamically shifting sequence of priority rankings, invoked to resolve contentions for the interface or for one of a plurality of hardware class locks. The class locks are uniquely associated with different capabilities or classes of data operations, which reduces the number of contentions and allows multiple operations to proceed simultaneously. Arbitration logic encompassing all of the processing devices is duplicated in each of the processing devices, and kept coherent through an interconnection of multiple data buses. One bus is associated with each processing device, receives the output of the associated processing device and provides the output to each of the other processing devices. A lock sequencer includes a store-tracking feature that minimizes the time that any processor, after losing a contention for a lock, is in a hold condition.

대표청구항 ▼

A process for monitoring one of a plurality of processing devices while one of the processing devices controls at least one lock, and for signaling a release of the lock to enable any of said plurality of processing devices to acquire the lock, said process in a data processing network including sai

A process for monitoring one of a plurality of processing devices while one of the processing devices controls at least one lock, and for signaling a release of the lock to enable any of said plurality of processing devices to acquire the lock, said process in a data processing network including said plurality of processing devices for executing computer program instructions to manipulate bid-encoded data, a shared resource for storing the bit-encoded data, and an interface connected to the processing devices and to the shared resource for use in transmitting the bit-encoded data between the processing devices and the shared resource, said lock for protecting a particular subset of the bit-encoded data, and wherein any one of said plurality of processing devices can acquire control of the lock to prevent the other processing devices from acquiring the particular subset protected by the lock until said one processing device completes a data operation and releases the lock, wherein each of the processing devices includes a cache memory, a cache memory directory, and a sector for storing lock control information indicating whether the one processing device has control of the lock and store progress information concerning store operations performed by the one processing device, and wherein the respective sectors are interconnected to maintain coherency of the information among the sectors; said process including: monitoring the sectors of the processing devices for the presence of lock control information concerning three alternative lock conditions of said one processing device, including (i) an idle condition indicating no activity concerning the lock; (ii) a locked condition indicating that said one processing device has acquired the lock and controls the lock; and (iii) a free condition indicating that said one processing device has released the lock, but must perform a remaining data store operation according to said particular subset of the bit-encoded data; responsive to a change in said lock control information, from indicating the locked condition to indicating the free condition of said one processing device, monitoring the store progress information present in the sectors to track the remaining data store operation performed by said one processing device; and responsive to the presence of store progress information indicating that the data store operation in the shared resource has been completed, causing said one processing device to alter the lock control information to indicate the idle condition, and communicating the indication of the idle condition to said other processing devices, thereby enabling one of said processing devices to acquire the lock.