Multiprocessing

Assignment 2: Multiprocessing

MSMP and SMP

Master-slave multiprocessing, or MSMP, is when one CPU (the master) controls the system, all resources and scheduling. Only this master can execute the operating system. The other CPU's are slaves that perform all of the work assigned by the master (Englander, 2009). This configuration is not widely used anymore. Conversely, Symmetrical multiprocessing, or SMP, is where each CPU has the same access to the operating system, all resources, and memory. In this set-up, each CPU is identical (Englander, 2009).

In a master-slave configuration, the master holds the memory and is the one who allocates the needed memory to the other CPU's. The problem with this is that the master CPU becomes bottlenecked. A solution of this could be to...