smp
5 ResultsDictionary
SMP
(Symmetric MultiProcessing) A multiprocessing architecture in which multiple CPUs, residing in one cabinet, share the same memory. SMP systems provide scalability. As business increases,...
Dictionary
Definition: SMP
(Symmetric MultiProcessing) A multiprocessing architecture in which multiple CPUs, residing in one cabinet, share the same memory. SMP systems provide scalability. As business increases, additional CPUs can be added to absorb the increased transaction volume.
SMP systems range from two to as many as 32 or more processors. However, if one CPU fails, the entire SMP system is down. Clusters of two or more SMP systems can be used to provide high availability (fault resilience). If one SMP system fails, the others continue to operate.
A Pool of Resources
One of the CPUs boots the system and loads the SMP operating system, which brings the other CPUs online. There is only one instance of the operating system and one instance of the application in memory. The operating system uses the CPUs as a pool of processing resources, all executing simultaneously, either processing data or in an idle loop waiting to do something.
Whatever Can Be Overlapped
SMP speeds up whatever processes can be overlapped. For example, in a desktop computer, it would speed up the running of multiple applications simultaneously. If an application is multithreaded, which allows for concurrent operations within the application itself, then SMP will improve the performance of that single application.
Sequent, Pyramid and Encore pioneered SMP on Unix platforms. SMP servers are also available from IBM, HP, NCR, Unisys and others. Many versions of Unix as well as Windows NT/2000, NetWare and OS/2 have been designed for or have been revamped for SMP. Contrast with MPP. See also NUMA.
SMP and MPP Processing
In SMP, CPUs are assigned to the next available task or thread that can run concurrently. In MPP operation, the problem is broken up into separate pieces, which are processed simultaneously.
THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY
All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher.
© 1981-2010 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved.
Sponsored White Papers, Webcasts & Resources
-
Beyond Simple Total Cost of Ownership
Check out this white paper to learn how today's investments have moved past total cost of ownership.
-
Microsoft Releases Hyper-V
I just received a message from Microsoft about the release of Hyper-V. It has some interesting details about platform support and availability. Here's what Microsoft had to say Tomorrow, June...
-
Hyper-V: It's here
As reported by ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley yesterday, Microsoft released its Hyper-V bare metal hypervisor platform (Updated: 4:20PM EST)for Windows Server 2008 today, in a virtual shot across...
-
Searching for Operational Savings and Effectiveness? Try a Little Virtualization: Part 1 - Virtualization Frameworks
Infrastructure virtualization is no longer just a technically interesting addition to vendors' (e.g., Unix, Intel) and operations groups' bag of tricks - it is quickly becoming a key element...
-
SCO has proven nothing
Sanjeev Sharma: "SCO has shown nothing convincing to anyone, but merely put on a show of grandiose claims backed by misdirection and confusion."
-
Is RAC Still a Stretch? Part 2
Oracle's Real Application Clusters (RAC) option is marketed as the answer to lowering total infrastructure costs. By clustering commodity servers, unlimited scalability is supposedly achieved at a...
-
Additional Results
-
Sony SMP-N200 photos
Sony's SMP-N200 streaming-media box packs a lot of functionality, but it's hampered by a subpar user interface.
-
Sony brings 3D streaming to your HDTV with SMP-N200 set-top box
Sony piles on to the ever-expanding world on streaming video players with its new SMP-N200 box, which the company announced would arrive in the U.S. next month. Unlike Apple TV, the Sony device...
-
Sony SMP-N100 (photos)
Sony's SMP-N100 streaming video box isn't the easiest to use, but it offers an unparalleled feature set at its price.
-
Sony's SMP-N100 "Netbox": Netflix streaming, built-in 802.11n, DivX support for $129
Sony's digital convergence devices have often disappointed for some reason or other: The price is too high, or they leave out support for a popular file format to satisfy the DRM concern of Sony's...
-
Microsoft Releases Hyper-V
I just received a message from Microsoft about the release of Hyper-V. It has some interesting details about platform support and availability. Here's what Microsoft had to say Tomorrow, June...
-
Hyper-V: It's here
As reported by ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley yesterday, Microsoft released its Hyper-V bare metal hypervisor platform (Updated: 4:20PM EST)for Windows Server 2008 today, in a virtual shot across...
-
Searching for Operational Savings and Effectiveness? Try a Little Virtualization: Part 1 - Virtualization Frameworks
Infrastructure virtualization is no longer just a technically interesting addition to vendors' (e.g., Unix, Intel) and operations groups' bag of tricks - it is quickly becoming a key element...
-
SCO has proven nothing
Sanjeev Sharma: "SCO has shown nothing convincing to anyone, but merely put on a show of grandiose claims backed by misdirection and confusion."
-
Is RAC Still a Stretch? Part 2
Oracle's Real Application Clusters (RAC) option is marketed as the answer to lowering total infrastructure costs. By clustering commodity servers, unlimited scalability is supposedly achieved at a...
-
Hyper-threading: Intel's call to action
With its new Hyper-threaded Xeon CPU, Intel is paving the way for multithreaded software development. But Larry Seltzer wonders whether developers will embrace the challenge.
The best of ZDNet, delivered
ZDNet Newsletters
Get the best of ZDNet delivered straight to your inbox
Vendor Showcase
