Patent ID: 7581081

Claim:
A system for processing applications, the system comprising: a plurality of processor nodes with each processor node comprising a processing element configured to execute at least one of the applications, a software extensible device configured to provide additional previously presented instructions to a set of standard instructions for the processing element, wherein the previously presented instructions can be programmed by software, a first communication interface including a first selector module configured to communicate with a first other member of the plurality of processor nodes or communicate with a first input/output device, a first array interface module configured to communicate with the first other member of the plurality of processor nodes via the first selector module, a first standard input/output interface configured to communicate with the first input/output device via the first selector module, the first selector module further configured to select between the first array interface module and the first standard input/output interface, a second communication interface including a second selector module configured to communicate with a second other member of the plurality of processor nodes or communicate with a second input/output device, a second array interface module configured to communicate with the second other member of the plurality of processor nodes via the second selector module, a second standard input/output interface configured to communicate with the second input/output device via the second selector module, the second selector module further configured to select between the second array interface module and the second standard input/output interface; and a plurality of links interconnecting the plurality of processor nodes.