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Advanced computer architecture and parallel processing (Wiley Series on Parallel and Distributed Computing)
El-Rewini H., Abd-El-Barr M., Wiley-Interscience, 2005. Type: Book (9780471467403)
Date Reviewed: Apr 14 2005

El-Rewini and Abd-El-Barr use a bottom-up approach to tackle the topic of high-performance computing and architecture. They start by covering the four basic hardware architectural patterns: single instruction single data (SISD), single instruction multiple data (SIMD), multiple instruction multiple data (MIMD), and multiple instruction single data (MISD). Each component of these patterns is expanded in the book.

All of the architectural patterns noted above have the same components, but, for each design, the components are arranged in a different manner. These components are the processor, the memory, the control unit, and the communication path between the above three components. Over all of these is the programming model that the end user sees. Each of these components can be arranged differently, either by itself, or as part of the bigger picture. For example, memory can either be shared or exclusive to each processor, and the processors can have access to one memory bank, all memory banks, or a combination of both. The communication paths among the various components determine the final design: linear array, ring, mesh, tree, and hypercube communication patterns are available to connect the main components of the system. Two communication models, message passing and shared memory architectures, are explored further as the two main communication models in multiprocessor systems. After the foundations, the authors delve into the specifics of the various arrangements of these components, to achieve one of the four architectural patterns mentioned above.

Time and space complexity, both in communication and in processing, are examined and depicted for the presented architectures. In each chapter, tables present the pros and cons of each architecture, and why one is better at solving specific problems than another. The topics discussed are then put into a model of a shared memory system called a parallel random access machine (PRAM), and a model for a synchronous message passing system. The authors go through a complexity analysis for the algorithms described, for both the PRAM and message passing models. Algorithms for sorting, searching, matrix manipulation, leader selection, and many other functions are presented.

The algorithms are presented in pseudocode format, but two popular application programming interfaces (APIs), the message passing interface (MPI) and the parallel virtual machine (PVM), are discussed in detail in later chapters, as they pertain to the two model systems presented. This book is not meant to be a programmer’s guide, but rather a conceptual overview of how the different architectural patterns discussed can be achieved, using either of these programming models. One would need to pick up an API reference guide after reading this book, if one is interested in further exploring either PVM or MPI.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in getting a deep understanding of parallel computation and algorithms. The main issues that arise when discussing these topics are depicted and analyzed in detail.

Reviewer:  Art Sedighi Review #: CR131127 (0602-0110)
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Associative Processors (C.1.2 ... )
 
 
Concurrency (D.4.1 ... )
 
 
Distributed Architectures (C.1.4 ... )
 
 
Message Sending (D.4.4 ... )
 
 
Parallel Programming (D.1.3 ... )
 
 
Concurrent Programming (D.1.3 )
 
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Other reviews under "Associative Processors": Date
Bit-Parallel Arithmetic in a Massively-Parallel Associative Processor
Scherson I., Kramer D., Alleyne B. IEEE Transactions on Computers 41(10): 1201-1210, 1992. Type: Article
May 1 1994
Distributed and parallel systems: cluster and grid computing (Kluwer International Series in Engineering & Computer Science)
Juhasz Z., Springer-Verlag Telos, 2004. Type: Book (9780387230948)
Feb 28 2005

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