Patent ID: 8122228
Filing Date: 2012-02-21
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A method of broadcasting collective operation contributions throughout a parallel computer, the parallel computer comprising a plurality of compute nodes connected together through a data communications network, each compute node having a plurality of processors for use in collective parallel operations on the parallel computer, each collective parallel operation comprising a message passing computer program instruction executed simultaneously by all processors in all compute nodes of the parallel computer, the method comprising: transmitting, by each processor on each compute node responsive to each processor's simultaneous execution of a message passing computer program instruction of a collective parallel operation, that processor's collective operation contribution to the other processors on that compute node using intra-node communications; transmitting on a designated network link, by each processor on each compute node according to a serial processor transmission sequence, that processor's collective operation contribution to the other processors on the other compute nodes using inter-node communications, wherein the serial processor transmission sequence specifies the order in which each processor on a compute node may access the designated network link for transmitting a collective operation contribution through the network to another compute node, wherein each processor's collective operation contribution comprises data contributed by that processor to effect the collective parallel operation; and wherein transmitting on a designated network link comprises: determining, by each processor on that compute node, that processor's position in the serial processor transmission sequence, and transferring, by each processor on that compute node, that processor's collective operation contribution to the other processors on the other compute nodes in dependence upon that processor's position in the serial processor transmission sequence.