Fast Distributed Process Creation with the XMOS XS1 Architecture

TL;DR

This paper introduces an efficient process creation mechanism on the XMOS XS1 architecture, enabling rapid and dynamic distribution of computations with minimal overhead, suitable for irregular and unbounded parallel programs.

Contribution

It presents a novel explicit process creation mechanism optimized for the XMOS XS1 architecture, facilitating quick remote computation initiation and termination.

Findings

Process creation incurs only a fractional overhead of total runtime.

Mechanism enables rapid distribution of recursive and irregular computations.

Supports dynamic and flexible resource allocation in distributed systems.

Abstract

The provision of mechanisms for processor allocation in current distributed parallel programming models is very limited. This makes difficult, or even prohibits, the expression of a large class of programs which require a run-time assessment of their required resources. This includes programs whose structure is irregular, composite or unbounded. Efficient allocation of processors requires a process creation mechanism able to initiate and terminate remote computations quickly. This paper presents the design, demonstration and analysis of an explicit mechanism to do this, implemented on the XMOS XS1 architecture, as a foundation for a more dynamic scheme. It shows that process creation can be made efficient so that it incurs only a fractional overhead of the total runtime and that it can be combined naturally with recursion to enable rapid distribution of computations over a system.