29409365
A Parallel Asynchronous Garbage Collection Algorithm for Distributed Systems
The problem of distributed garbage collection is discussed. An algorithm for parallel distributed asynchronous garbage collection is presented. The liveness and safety properties of this method are demonstrated. The algorithm does not require a global clock, complex termination detection methods, or distributed synchronization techniques. A new color code is introduced to distinguish between local cells (black) and those that are exclusively accessible from the remote pointers (gray). The mutator operation is revised to handle a multiple mutator scheme on a given local memory. Simulation results show that the developed distributed and parallel algorithm performs much better than the sequential method as tested on a Balance 8000 computer. >
27793990
Fail Safe Distributed Fault Diagnosis of Multiprocessor Systems
19852972
Distributed Instruction Set Computer Architecture
The Distributed Instruction Set Computer Architecture (DISC) is proposed as a fine-grained multiprocessing computer architecture. DISC uses a parallel instruction set and a distributed control mechanism to explore fine-grained, parallel processing in a multiple-functional-unit system. Multiple instructions are executed in parallel and/or out of order at the highest speed of n instructions/cycle, where n is the number of functional units. Based on this architecture, a hardware system is developed. Extensive studies were conducted on a behavioral DISC system model to investigate the performance level, the effect of program sizes, and the hardware utilization. Simulation showed that a DISC system incorporating 16 functional units can run 7.7 times faster than a single-functional-unit DISC system. >
15881866
Performance analysis of circuit switching, baseline interconnection networks
Performance evaluation, using both analytical and simulation models, of circuit switching baseline networks is presented. Two configurations of the baseline networks, single and dual, are evaluated. In each configuration, two different conflict resolution strategies, drop and hold, are tried to see the performance difference. Our analytical models are based on a more realistic assumption. New analyses are given and are verified by simulation results. In single network configuration, it is shown that the drop strategy is better than the hold strategy in the case that the data transfer time is longer than 10 cycles under a high request rate. In the dual network configuration, five different communication strategies are investigated and the optimum performance level is shown to be dependent on the length of the data transfer time.
16106791
A microprocessor-controlled asynchronous circuit switching network
This paper describes an asynchronous circuit switching network for multiple-processor systems. Several circuit switching networks for various applications have been proposed and constructed. However, there are problems associated with these networks. The asynchronous circuit switching network possesses several features that can solve these problems. A three-stage fully connected topology is utilized to construct the network. Each switching element is functionally and physically identical and this facilitates a cost-effective LSI implementation and software development. The control structure of the switching element and the routing algorithm are re-organized to fit the asynchronous operation. The network takes advantage of low-cost microcomputers to do the distributed routing control and to implement the communication protocols. The graceful degradation characteristic in the network is provided by independent multiple paths existing between any pair of the source and the destination. A network monitor is incorporated to facilitate an adaptive routing strategy and to have the fault diagnostic capability. Three alternatives for the switching element implementation are described to demonstrate the hardware and software tradeoffs.
19123449
Operating System Kernel for a Reconfigurable Multiprocessor System
6603995
Protein family classification and functional annotation
With the accelerated accumulation of genomic sequence data, there is a pressing need to develop computational methods and advanced bioinformatics infrastructure for reliable and large-scale protein annotation and biological knowledge discovery. The Protein Information Resource (PIR) provides an integrated public resource of protein informatics to support genomic and proteomic research. PIR produces the Protein Sequence Database of functionally annotated protein sequences. The annotation problems are addressed by a classification-driven and rule-based method with evidence attribution, coupled with an integrated knowledge base system being developed. The approach allows sensitive identification, consistent and rich annotation, and systematic detection of annotation errors, as well as distinction of experimentally verified and computationally predicted features. The knowledge base consists of two new databases, sequence analysis tools, and graphical interfaces. PIR-NREF, a non-redundant reference database, provides a timely and comprehensive collection of all protein sequences, totaling more than 1,000,000 entries. iProClass, an integrated database of protein family, function, and structure information, provides extensive value-added features for about 830,000 proteins with rich links to over 50 molecular databases. This paper describes our approach to protein functional annotation with case studies and examines common identification errors. It also illustrates that data integration in PIR supports exploration of protein relationships and may reveal protein functional associations beyond sequence homology.
47400657
Construction of correlation immune Boolean functions
It is shown in this paper that every correlation immune Boolean function of n variables can be written as f(x) = g(xGT ), where g is an algebraic non-degenerate Boolean function of k (k ≤ n) variables and G is a generating matrix of an [n, k, d] linear code. It is known that the correlation immunity of f (x) is at least d − 1. In this paper we further prove when the correlation immunity exceeds this lower bound. A method which can theoretically search exhaustively all possible correlation immune functions is proposed, while constructions of higher order correlation immune functions as well as algebraic non-degenerate correlation immune functions are discussed in particular. It is also shown that many cryptographic properties of g can be inherited by the correlation immune function f (x) = g(xGT) which is an important property for choosing useful correlation immune functions.
14149213
Efficient Stack Simulation for Shared Memory Set-Associative Multiprocessor Caches
We propose efficient stack simulation algorithms for shared memory multiprocessor (MP) caches. A stack simulation algorithm for write-updated MP caches is first presented. It produces the number of write-updates as well as misses for all cache configurations in a single run. We then devise a new stack simulation algorithm for writeinvalidate MP caches. Our algorithm takes into account cross-invalidation among processors, and generates the number of invalidations as well as misses for all cache configurations in a single run. A cache simulator based on our algorithms for MP caches is developed and the results on sample traces are reported. Our results show that effi cient stack simulation is a powerful technique for multi processor cache analysis.
206015400
Genetic-algorithm-based real-time task scheduling with multiple goals
This paper presents and evaluates a new method for real-time task scheduling in multiprocessor systems. Its objectives are to minimize the number of processors required and the total tardiness of tasks. The minimization is carried out through a multiobjective genetic algorithm (GA), because the problem has non-commensurable and competing objectives to be optimized. The experimental results showed that when compared to five methods used previously, such as list-scheduling algorithms and a specific GA, the performance of our algorithm was comparable or better for 178 out of 180 randomly generated task graphs. Also shown is the impact of the sparsity of a task graph on the performance of our algorithm.
12615323
PIRSF: family classification system at the Protein Information Resource
The Protein Information Resource (PIR) is an integrated public resource of protein informatics. To facilitate the sensible propagation and standardization of protein annotation and the systematic detection of annotation errors, PIR has extended its superfamily concept and developed the SuperFamily (PIRSF) classification system. Based on the evolutionary relationships of whole proteins, this classification system allows annotation of both specific biological and generic biochemical functions. The system adopts a network structure for protein classification from superfamily to subfamily levels. Protein family members are homologous (sharing common ancestry) and homeomorphic (sharing full-length sequence similarity with common domain architecture). The PIRSF database consists of two data sets, preliminary clusters and curated families. The curated families include family name, protein membership, parent-child relationship, domain architecture, and optional description and bibliography. PIRSF is accessible from the website at http://pir.georgetown.edu/pirsf/ for report retrieval and sequence classification. The report presents family annotation, membership statistics, cross-references to other databases, graphical display of domain architecture, and links to multiple sequence alignments and phylogenetic trees for curated families. PIRSF can be utilized to analyze phylogenetic profiles, to reveal functional convergence and divergence, and to identify interesting relationships between homeomorphic families, domains and structural classes.