Patent ID: 8082424
Filing Date: 2011-12-20
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A method for determining when a set comprising a plurality of compute nodes participating in a barrier operation on a parallel computer are ready to exit the barrier operation, the method comprising, for each compute node in the set of compute nodes: initializing, by the compute node, a barrier counter with no counter underflow interrupt; configuring, by the compute node upon entering the barrier operation, the barrier counter with a value in dependence upon a number of compute nodes in the set of compute nodes; broadcasting, by a Direct Memory Access ('DMA') engine on the compute node to each of the other compute nodes in the set upon entering the barrier operation, a barrier control packet; receiving, by the DMA engine on the compute node from each of the other compute nodes in the set, a barrier control packet sent in response to each of the other compute nodes entering the barrier operation; modifying, by the DMA engine for the compute node, the value for the barrier counter in dependence upon each of the received barrier control packets; determining, by the DMA engine for the compute node, whether the value for the barrier counter matches an exit value; and exiting, by the compute node, the barrier operation if the value for the barrier counter matches the exit value.