A multiprocessor system

Abstract: In a multiprocessor system formed as a plurality of processors (1) connected in parallel with each other through a network (30) for performing mutual communication, each processor includes a transfer queue unit (5), a main storage (2), a reception unit (4) operatively connected to the transfer queue unit, a transmission unit (3) operatively connected to the transfer queue unit, a first register (9) operatively connected to the reception unit and the transfer queue unit, a second register (10) operatively connected to the reception unit, a save unit (11) operatively connected to the reception unit, an enqueuing unit (12) operatively connected between the save unit and the transfer queue unit, and an interruption processing unit (8) operatively connected to the reception unit and the first register, whereby a certain communication process, for example, a transfer request for data and a transfer of data, between processors by using an operating system and a data processing program is enabled.

Description: The present invention relates to a multiprocessor system and, more particularly, to a system formed as a plurality of processors connected in parallel with each other through a network. In a multiprocessor system, each processor has hardware, for example, transmission means and reception means, to perform communication between processors. During communication between processors, it is desirable to provide hardware to enable a certain transfer of data and to enable suitable management of the communication process for a transfer request to be performed, by using an operating system OS or a data processing program. In this case, such suitable management using an operating system and a data processing program has not yet been realized. It is desirable to provide a multiprocessor system which can enable a certain communication process, for example, passing a request for transferring data (a transfer request) and transferring data, between processors to be performed. According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a multiprocessor system as set out in claim 1. Preferred embodiments are set out in claims 2 to 8 US5016221 discloses a a FIFO memory interface. During data reception, a comparator circuit determines whether the incoming data should be stored or aborted, and establishes the appropriate memory address. During data transmission, a status register monitors the readiness of the data medium onto which the data is to be transmitted, as well as if and/or when the data medium is ready to accept data . Reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a previously-proposed basic structure provided in a processor for performing communication between processors; Fig. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a basic structure of a processor for performing communication between processors part-embodying the present invention; Fig. 3 is a schematic block diagram of a multiprocessor system embodying the present invention; Fig. 4 is a schematic block diagram of a processor shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a detailed block diagram of the transmission unit shown in Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a detailed block diagram of the reception unit shown in Fig. 4; and Fig. 7 is one example of data structure of transfer queue means for use in an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram of a previously-proposed basic structure provided in a processor for performing communication between processors. In Fig. 1, reference number 1 denotes a processor used in a multiprocessor system, reference number 2 denotes a main storage, reference number 3 denotes a transmission means formed of hardware for a transferring data, reference number 4 denotes a reception means also formed of a hardware for receiving the transfer request, reference number 5 denotes transfer queue means, reference number 6 denotes a read pointer, and reference number 7 denotes a write pointer. In the processor 1, when the transfer request is sent from another processor to the reception means 4, the reception means 4 receives the transfer request and enqueues it into one of the transfer queue means 5. Further, the reception means 4 increments a content of the write pointer 7, which indicates a destination to be enqueued in the transfer queue means 5, by "1". The transmission means 3 always supervises the values of the read pointer 6 and the write pointer 7. When the pointer 6 indicates a different value compared to the write pointer 7, there is data which has not yet been transferred from the main storage 2. Accordingly, the transmission means 3 reads the data, which is designated by the transfer request at the read pointer 6, from the main storage 2, and transfers the data to the processor designated by the transfer request. When the transmission means 3 completes the above transfer process of the data, the transmission means 4 increments the content of the read pointer 6, which indicates a destination to be read from the transfer queue means 5, by "1". In the above transfer process of the data, when the number of transfer requests exceeding the number of request previously expected, are issued from other processors, the transfer queue means 5 reaches an overflow state. When the overflow state occurs in the transfer queue means 5, the reception means 4 can not receive the following transfer request so that the reception means 4 ignores such a transfer request. As explained above, the previously-proposed processor employs a structure that the transmission/reception means 3 and 4, each of which is formed of hardware, perform data transferring process for a transfer request sent from another processor regardless of an operating system or a data transfer program. There are, however, problems in the previously-proposed processor in that, as mentioned above, when many transfer requests, which exceed the number of requests previously expected, are issued from other processors, the transfer queue means 5 reaches an overflow state so that the reception means 4 cannot handle the transfer requests to be processed. Further, since the transmission/reception means 3 and 4 perform the data transferring process for the transfer request regardless of the operating system and the data transfer program, the operating system and the data transfer program cannot detect frequency of the issue of the transfer requests from other processors so that they cannot control the reception of the transfer request sent from other processors. Accordingly, an embodiment of the present invention desirably provides a multiprocessor system which can manage a communication process, particularly reception of the transfer request and the transfer of data based on the transfer request, in the hardware, i.e., both transmission/reception means 3 and 4, by using an operating system or a data processing program. Figure 2 is a schematic block diagram of a structure provided in a processor for performing communication between processors for use in an embodiment of the present invention, in which the transfer request, which is issued by the data processing program of its own processor 1, may be enqueued in the transfer queue means 5. The same reference numbers as used in Fig. 1 are attached to the same components in this drawing. In Fig. 2, reference number 8 denotes an interruption processing means formed of, for example, a supervisor. A supervisor is one kind of operating system OS. When the interruption processing means 8 receives an interruption request, it performs an interruption process in accordance with the interruption request. Reference number 9 denotes a first register provided for managing (indicating) whether or not the transfer queue means 5 becomes fully enqueued state. Reference number 10 denotes a second register provided for managing valid information at the reception operation which is set by the interruption processing means 8. Reference number 11 denotes a save area provided for saving the transfer request received by the reception means 4. Reference number 12 denotes an enqueuing means provided for enqueuing the transfer request, which is saved in the save area 11, in the transfer queue means 5. As shown in the drawing, the reception means 4 comprises a rejection unit 13 for ignoring the transfer request sent from other processor 1; a decision unit 14 for determining whether or not the first register 9 indicates fully enqueued state of the transfer queue means 5; a detection unit 15 for detecting whether or not the transfer queue means 5 has been filled with the transfer request; a save unit 16 for saving the received transfer request to the save area 11; and an issuing unit 17 for issuing the interruption request to the interruption processing means 8. The operation of the processor shown in Fig. 2 will be explained briefly below. When a transfer request is sent from another processor, the rejection unit 13 of the reception means 4 ignores the transfer request when the second register 10 indicates a "non-validity" (i.e., an invalidity) at the reception operation. Accordingly, the interruption processing means 8 can ignore a transfer request issued by another processor when the interruption processing means 8 sets the information indicating the non-validity at the reception operation to the second register 10. When the second register 10 manages the valid information which indicates the validity at the reception operation, the decision unit 14 determines whether or not the first register 9 is full. When the decision unit 14 determines that the first register 9 indicates a full state, the save unit 16 saves the transfer request to the save area 11. Further, the issue unit 17 issues the interruption request to the interruption processing means 8. When the interruption processing means 8 receives the interruption request, it determines that the interruption request is caused by the full state of the transfer queue means 5 in accordance with the management data at the first register 9; supervises the contents of the read pointer 6 and the write pointer 7 to detect the vacant state of the transfer request in the transfer queue means 5; and issues an enqueuing request to the enqueuing means 12 when the transfer queue means 5 has a vacant area. When the enqueuing means 12 receives the enqueuing request from the interruption processing means 8, the enqueuing means 12 enqueues the transfer request, which is saved in the save area 11, to the transfer queue means 5, and increments the content in the write pointer 7 by "1". When the decision unit 14 determines that the first register 9 indicates a non-full state, the detection unit 15 detects whether or not the transfer queue means 5 reaches the full state in accordance with the contents of the read pointer 6 and the write pointer 7. When the detection unit 15 detects the full state of the transfer queue means 5, the detection unit 15 sets the indication of the full state into the register 9. Further, the save unit 16 saves the transfer request to the save area 11, and the issue unit 17 issues the interruption request to the interruption processing means 8. As explained above, in an embodiment of the present invention, when reception means 4 receives the transfer request from another processor, the transfer request is temporarily saved in the save area when the transfer queue means 5 is full. Further, when the operating system detects the vacant state of the transfer queue means 5, the transfer request is enqueued in the transfer queue means 5. Accordingly, if the transfer queue means 5 is full, the transfer request from another processor is not ignored. Further, the management data in the first register 9 is set to the indication of the full state when the reception means 4 detects the full state of the transfer queue means 5, and the indication of the full state is reset when the full state of the transfer request queue 5 is released after the data transfer is completed in the transmission means 3. In this case, when the interruption processing means 8 sets the indication of the full state into the first register 9 regardless of the full state of the transfer queue means 5, the interruption request is informed to the interruption processing means 8 so that the interruption processing means 8 can detect the frequency of the issue of the transfer requests sent from other processors in the present invention. Figure 3 is a schematic block diagram of a multiprocessor system embodying the present invention, and Figure 4 is a schematic block diagram of a processor shown in Fig. 3. In Fig. 3, reference numbers 20-1 to 20-n denote processors, and reference number 30 denotes a network connecting in parallel a plurality of processors 20-1 to 20-n. Each processor 20 corresponds to the processor 1 shown in Fig. 2. As shown in Fig. 4, the processor 20 includes a main storage 21 for storing instructions and data, an instruction processing unit 22 for moving the instruction from the main storage 21 and executing the instruction, and a transfer processing unit 23 for transferring data packets between the main storage 21 and the network 30. Further, the transfer processing unit 23 includes a transmission unit 24 for transferring the data packets, and a reception unit 25 for receiving the packets. In this case, the interruption processing means 8 shown in Fig. 2 is included in the instruction processing unit 22. Further, the transfer request to the reception means 4 and the data transfer from the transmission means 3 corresponds to arrow lines between the processors and the network in Figs. 3 and 4. Although the transfer processing unit 23 of Fig. 4 is not shown in Fig. 2, this unit 23 is included in the transmission means 3 and the reception means 4. Figure 5 is a detailed block diagram of the transmission unit shown in Fig. 4, and Figure 6 is a detailed block diagram of the reception unit shown in Fig. 4. The transmission unit 24 is formed of a transfer control unit 240 for the network, an access control unit 241 for the main memory, a data buffer 242, a write pointer 243 for the transfer queue, a read pointer 244 for the transfer queue, and a base address register 245 for the transfer queue. The transfer control unit 240 is started by the instruction from the instruction processing unit 22 of Fig. 4, and starts to transfer the data in accordance with values in the write pointer 243 and the read pointer 244. Further, the transfer control unit 240 issues an access to the main memory to the access control unit 241 in order to read a header and a body data of a transfer packet, and controls a network interface (not shown) to control the data transfer from the data buffer 242 to the network 30. The access control 241 executes an access operation to the main memory 21 in accordance with an instruction from the transfer control unit 240. The data buffer 242 temporarily stores the data when transferring the data between the main memory 21 and the network 30, and stores data which is required for the read/write operation of data on the main memory 21. The write pointer 243 is a register which is able to refer to and update the data from the instruction processing unit 22, and indicates the state that the transfer request is enqueued in the transfer queue means 5. The read pointer 244 is also a register which is able to refer and update data from the instruction processing unit 22, and indicates the state that the transfer process of the data is completed in the transfer queue means 5. The base address register 245 is also a register which is able to refer to and update the data from the instruction processing unit 22, and indicates a head address of the transfer queue in the main memory 21. As the transfer request to be enqueued by the transfer queue means 5, one is generated by the data processing program in its own processor 20, and the other is sent from another processor 20. The latter is enqueued from the reception processing unit 25 to the transfer queue means 5 as explained below. When the transfer request, which instructs the transfer of the data that its own processor 20 has, is enqueued in the transfer queue means 5, the data processing program writes various information, for example, a designation of the reception apparatus, a length of body data, a transmission address, and reception address, onto the main memory 21. In this case, the location on the main memory 21 is addressed by the following formula, i.e., "base address of the transfer queue + an indication of the write pointer × a length of the header". Further, the above information is written in accordance with a form of a packet header. After the above operation, the write pointer 243 is incremented by "1". The data processing program repeats above processes when it enqueues the transfer request in the transfer queue means 5. On the other hand, when the transfer request, which instructs the transfer of the data that another processor 20 has (below, this type of the packet for the transfer request may be called a read request packet), is enqueued in the transfer queue means 5, the data processing program writes various information from another processor (below, this type of the processor may be called a data returning processor), for example, a designation of the reception apparatus, a length of body data, a transmission address, and reception address, onto the main memory 21 in accordance with a form of the packet header. Next, the data processing program writes information, for example, a designation of the reception apparatus of the data returning processor, a transmission address in which a returning packet header is written, and a control information indicating a read request packet, onto the main memory 21. In this case, the location on the main memory 21 is addressed by the following formula, i.e., "base address of the transfer queue + an indication of the write pointer × a length of the header". Further, the above information is written in accordance with a form of the packet header. Still further, after above operation, the write pointer 243 is incremented by "1". The data processing program repeats above processes when it enqueues the read request packet to the transfer queue means 5. Figure 7 is one example of a data structure of the transfer queue means in an embodiment of the present invention. The format of one packet contains a destination of a reception apparatus, a packet flag for a read request, a data length of a body, a transmission address, a reception address, etc.. In accordance with the packet flag for the read request, it is possible to distinguish whether the transfer request enqueued in the transfer queue means 5 indicates the transfer request for data which own processor 20 has, or the transfer request for the data which another processor 20 has. Next, the operation of the transmission unit 24 will be explained in detail below with reference to Fig. 5. First, the transfer control unit 240 of the transmission unit 24 is started by the instruction processing unit 22, and waits for the enqueuing operation at the transfer request to the transfer queue means 5. When the content of the write pointer 243 is not coincided with the content of the read pointer 244, the transfer control unit 240 determines that there are the transfer requests which are not yet handled, and starts the data transfer process. Further, the transfer control unit 240 issues the access request to the access control unit 241 in order to read the header of the transfer packet to be transferred. When the access control unit 241 receives the access request, the access control unit 245 calculates the main memory address of the transfer request, which is the oldest and not yet answered request, in accordance with the base address 245 and the read pointer 244, and issues the read access to the main memory 21 by designating the main memory address. Further, when the packet header is read from the main memory 21 in response to the above operation, it is stored in the data buffer 242. When the read of the packet header is completed, the completion is informed to the transfer control unit 240. Further, the access control unit 241 removes the control information for the transfer request from the data buffer 242, calculates the address of the packet body, designates the main memory address, and issues the read access instruction to the main memory 21. When the packet bodies are read from the main memory 21 in response to the above instruction, the packet bodies are sequentially stored in the data buffer 242, and the number of packet bodies, which are read out from the main memory 21, are sequentially sent to the transfer control unit 240. Still further, when the access control unit 241 informs completion of the read operation for the packet header to the transfer control unit 240, the transfer control unit 240 removes the control information for the transfer request from the data buffer 242, and returns the control information to the data buffer 242 after performing a predetermined test and check on the data. Then, the transfer control unit 240 sends the packet header from the data buffer 242 to the network 30. Further, an amount of read of the packet bodies are informed from the access control unit 241, and the packet bodies, which are stored in the data buffer 242, are sent sequentially to the network 30. When the transfer control unit 240 completes the transfer of the packets to the network 30, the transfer control unit 240 increments the read pointer 244 by "1". Further, the transfer control unit 240 checks the contents of the write pointer 243 and the read pointer 244. When there are the transfer requests which have not yet been handled, the transfer control unit 240 starts to process the next transfer of data, and repeats the above processes until the content of the write pointer 243 is coincident with that of the read pointer 244. When the transfer request indicates the packet of the read request, the same processes as above are performed for the data transfer. In this case, the returning packet header is transferred as the packet body. As explained above, the transmission unit 24 can perform the transfer processes regardless of the supervisor of the operating system and the data processing program. As shown in Fig. 6, the reception unit 25 is formed of a transfer control unit 250, an access control unit 251, a data buffer 252, a valid flag 253 for the enqueue, and an overflow flag for the transfer queue 254. The transfer control unit 250 is started in response to the instruction from the instruction processing unit 22 of Fig. 4, determines the format of the reception of the transfer packet by referring to the valid flag 253 and the overflow flag 254, issues the access for the main memory to the access control unit 251 in order to write the header and body data of the received transfer packet, and controls the reception of the data by controlling the network interface. The access control unit 251 performs the access operation to the main memory 21 in accordance with the instruction from the transfer control unit 250, and controls the data transfer between the data buffer 252 and the main memory 21. The data buffer 252 temporarily executes buffering operation of the data when it performs the data transfer between the network 30 and the main memory 21, and further executes buffering operation of the data which is required in the read of data on the main memory 21. The valid flag 253 for the enqueue is held in the register which is able to refer and update the data from the instruction processing unit 22, and indicates whether or not the transfer packet should be received. The overflow flag 254 is held in the register which is able to refer to and update the data from the instruction processing unit 22, and indicates whether or not the transfer queue means 5 becomes an overflow state. The operation in the reception unit 25 will be explained in detail below. When the transfer control unit 250 is started by the instruction processing unit 22, it waits for an arrival of the transfer packet. When the transfer packet arrives at the transfer control unit 250, the transfer control unit 250 determines whether or not the transfer packet indicates a packet for a read request based on the control information of the transfer packet. When it indicates the packet for the read request, i.e., when it is the transfer request from another processor, the transfer control unit 250 refers to the valid flag for the enqueue 253, the transfer control unit 250 ignores the packet for the read request when the valid flag 253 indicates an invalid mode. In this case, when the transfer control unit 250 does not perform the enqueuing operation to the transfer queue, and does not issue the interruption for the overflow of the transfer queue. When the valid flag 253 indicates a valid mode, the transfer control unit 250 refers to the overflow flag 254. When the overflow flag 254 does not indicate the overflow state, the transfer control unit 250 refers to the write pointer 243 and the base address 245 of the transmission unit 24, and calculates the following formula for the main address, i.e., "base address of transfer queue + write pointer × length of header". Further, the transfer control unit 250 designates the main memory address and instructs that the access control unit 251 writes the return packet header, which is sent as the packet body of the read request, into the main memory 21. When the access control unit 251 receives the main memory access instruction, the access control unit 251 writes the return packet header to the position of the address on the main memory 21 in accordance with the format of the packet header, and executes the enqueue operation to the transfer queue means 5. As a result, the transfer control unit 250 increments the content of the write pointer 243 by "1". At that time, when the transfer queue means 5 does not indicate the overflow state, the mode of the flag of the overflow flag 254 is set to the state which does not indicate the overflow state (i.e., a non-overflow state). On the contrary, when the transfer queue means indicates the overflow state, the mode of the flag of the overflow flag 254 is updated to the indication of an overflow state, and the overflow interruption of the transfer queue is issued to the supervisor. Further, when the valid flag 253 for the enqueue indicates the valid mode, and when the overflow flag 254 indicates an overflow state, the transfer control unit 250 temporarily saves the return packet header of the read request packet into another memory area which is separately provided from the transfer queue means 5, and issues the overflow interruption to the supervisor of the operating system. When the supervisor receives the overflow interruption, the supervisor performs a polling operation to detect a vacant state in the transfer queue means. When the supervisor detects the vacant state in the transfer queue means, the supervisor issues the enqueuing request to the enqueuing means 12 shown in Fig. 2. When the enqueuing means 12 receives the enqueuing request, the enqueuing means 12 writes the return packet header of the read request packet into the position of the address on the main memory. In this case, the address of the main memory is expressed by the following formula, i.e., "base address for transfer queue + write pointer × length of header", and this is written by the format of the packet header to enqueue into the transfer queue means. Further, the pointer of the 243 is incremented by "1", and the overflow flag 254 is changed to the indication which the overflow is not performed. Accordingly, the reception unit 24 can perform the reception process issued by another processor 20. Although the number of processors 20 (20-1 to 20-n) are not specified, there may be any number, depending on the system used. In addition, although preferable, it may be desirable in some circumstances that not all of the processors in a multiprocessor system embodying the present invention are as described above.

Claims: A multiprocessor system formed of a plurality of processors (1) connected in parallel with each other through a network (30) for performing communication, each processor comprising: a transfer queue means (5) for temporarily storing a plurality of transfer requests; a main storage (2) for storing data to be enqueued; a reception means (4) operatively connected to the transfer queue means for receiving transfer requests issued by other processors, and sequentially enqueuing the received transfer requests to the transfer queue means; a transmission means (3) operatively connected to the transfer queue means for sending the data designated by a transfer request from the main storage to another processor when the transfer request is enqueued in the transfer queue means; a first register (9) operatively connected to the reception means and the transfer queue means for indicating whether or not the transfer queue means has an area available for storing the transfer request; a second register (10) operatively connected to the reception means for indicating whether a transfer request is valid; a save means (11) operatively connected to the reception means for temporarily saving the transfer request; an enqueuing means (12) operatively connected between the save means and the transfer queue means for enqueuing the transfer request from the save means to the transfer queue means; and an interruption processing means (8) operatively connected to the reception means and the first register for receiving an interruption request from the reception means, determining whether the transfer queue means has an area available for storing a transfer request and outputting an enqueuing request to the enqueuing means when the transfer queue means has an area available for storing a transfer request. A multiprocessor system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a write pointer (7) operatively connected between the transfer queue means and the transmission means and incremented by the reception means for indicating an available area to be written in the transfer queue means, and a read pointer operatively connected between the transfer queue means and the transmission means and incremented by the transmission means for indicating an area to be read from the transfer queue means. A multiprocessor system as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the interruption processing means includes an operating system, preferably, a supervisor, and a data processing program. A multiprocessor system as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the reception means includes a rejection unit (13) for ignoring the transfer request sent from another processor, a decision unit (14) for determining whether or not the first register indicates the transfer queue means does not have an area available for storing a transfer request when receiving the transfer request, a detection unit (15) for detecting whether or not the transfer queue means has an area available for storing a transfer request when the first register indicates a vacant state, a save unit for saving the transfer request sent from another processor into the save means when the decision unit determines the first register indicates the transfer queue means does not have an area available for storing a transfer request and when the detection unit detects the transfer queue means does not have an area available for storing a transfer request, and an issuing unit for issuing an interruption request to the interruption processing means when the save unit saves the transfer request into the save means. A multiprocessor system as claimed in claim 4, wherein, when the interruption processing means receives the interruption request from the issue unit, the interruption processing means detects whether the transfer queue means has an area available for storing a transfer request, and, when an area is available, issues the enqueuing request to the enqueuing means so as to enqueue the transfer request sent from another processor to the transfer queue means. A multiprocessor system as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3, or 4, wherein the interruption processing means sets the first register within the processor containing that transfer queue means to indicate that the transfer queue means does not have an area available for storing a transfer request regardless of the state of the transfer queue means. A multiprocessor system as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3, or 4, wherein the interruption processing means sets the second register, within the processor containing that transfer queue means to indicate that the transfer request is a valid request and the reception means ignores the transfer request when the second register indicates a non-valid transfer request. A multiprocessor system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the transfer queue means enqueues a transfer request issued by the processor containing that transfer queue means.

Inventors: DEWA MASAMI, IKEDA MASAYUKI, ISHIZAKA KENICHI, KOBAYAKAWA KAZUSHIGE, NAGASAWA SHIGERU, SHINJO NAOKI, UENO HARUHIKO, UTSUMI TERUO, DEWA, MASAMI, IKEDA, MASAYUKI, ISHIZAKA, KENICHI, KOBAYAKAWA, KAZUSHIGE, NAGASAWA, SHIGERU, SHINJO, NAOKI, UENO, HARUHIKO, UTSUMI, TERUO, DEWA, MASAMI, C/O FUJITSU LIMITED, IKEDA, MASAYUKI, C/O FUJITSU LIMITED, ISHIZAKA, KENICHI, C/O FUJITSU LIMITED, KOBAYAKAWA, KAZUSHIGE, C/O FUJITSU LIMITED, NAGASAWA, SHIGERU, C/O FUJITSU LIMITED, SHINJO, NAOKI, C/O FUJITSU LIMITED, UENO, HARUHIKO, C/O FUJITSU LIMITED, UTSUMI, TERUO, C/O FUJITSU LIMITED
Applicants: FUJITSU LTD, FUJITSU LIMITED
Application year: 1993
Main classification: G06F13
IPC codes: G06F15, G06F13, G06F9