EP0614139A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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External procedure call for distributed processing environment
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1994-01-27
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2014-01-27
Abstract
Abstract An eXternal Procedure Call (XPC) is a function in a distributed processing environment which allows a procedure local to or remote from a calling process to be called and executed (and, if appropriate, the results return to the calling process) without performing a full context switch between processes, either locally or remotely. This is accomplished by associating a subroutine with each processing node of the distributed processing environment. The subroutine is coded so that it can be directly accessed and executed within each processing thread of the parallel job.
Inventors
- 👤 Mark Edwin Giampapa
- 👤 Gordon Fitch Blake
- 👤 Hubertus Franke
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 08:55
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F9/00; G06F9/06; G06F9/46; G06F9/54; G06F9/547
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 24
Claim 1
Independent Claim
169 words
In a distributed processing environment having multiple processing nodes for parallel processing different tasks of a parallel job, said parallel job including a plurality of tasks each having multiple processing threads, a process for executing a procedure at a target thread of one of said plurality of tasks, said procedure executing process comprising the steps of: (a) preassociating call/execute procedure code with each of said multiple processing nodes of said distributed processing environment such that for each processing node at least one thread executed thereby can directly access said call/execute procedure code without requiring a task context switch; (b) executing a requestor thread at one of said multiple processing nodes of said distributed processing environment, said requestor thread calling for execution of the procedure at the target thread; and (c) executing the procedure at said target thread, said executing of said procedure including processing said call/execute procedure code within said target thread such that said procedure is executed without employing context switching between different tasks of said parallel process.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
53 words
The procedure executing process of claim 1, further comprising the step of allocating a request message buffer to each potential requestor thread of said parallel job, and wherein said executing step (b) includes loading said requestor thread's allocated request message buffer with parameters calling for execution of the procedure at the target thread.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
53 words
The procedure executing process of claim 2, further comprising the step of executing the called procedure locally within the requestor thread when possible such that the target thread comprises the requestor thread and no thread context switching is required at the processing node executing said requestor thread in order to execute said procedure.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
49 words
The procedure executing process of claim 3, further comprising the step of allocating a response message buffer to each processing thread of said parallel job, and wherein said procedure executing step (c) includes loading said requestor thread's allocated response message buffer with a result from execution of said procedure.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
34 words
The procedure executing process of claim 2, wherein said executing step (c) occurs at a remote processing node within said distributed processing environment from the processing node performing said requestor thread executing step (b).
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
50 words
The procedure executing process of claim 5, further comprising the step of communicating to said target thread said requestor thread's call for execution of said procedure, said communicating step including sending loaded parameters from said requestor thread's request message buffer to a request message buffer allocated to said target thread.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
36 words
The procedure executing process of claim 6, further comprising the steps of interrupting processing at said remote processing node and running said target thread for accessing said call/execute procedure code preassociated with said remote processing node.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
31 words
The procedure executing process of claim 6, wherein said procedure executing step (c) includes executing said call procedure using parameters sent to said request message buffer allocated to said target thread.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
49 words
The procedure executing process of claim 6, further comprising the step of allocating a response message buffer to each processing thread of said parallel job, and wherein said procedure executing step (c) includes loading said target thread's allocated response message buffer with a result from execution of said procedure.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
31 words
The procedure executing process of claim 9, further comprising the step of communicating said result from said target thread's allocated response message buffer to said requestor thread's allocated response message buffer.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
31 words
The procedure executing process of claim 6, further comprising the step of providing signal bits for said requestor thread to track calling and processing of said procedure by said target thread.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
37 words
The procedure executing process of claim 1, further comprising the step of holding further processing of said requestor thread in said step (b) until said procedure has been completed by said target thread in said step (c).
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
195 words
A process for executing a procedure at a target thread comprising one of multiple threads of a parallel job, said procedure executing process being implemented in a distributed processing environment having multiple processing nodes, said procedure executing process comprising the steps of: (a) associating call/execute procedure code with each of said multiple processing nodes of said distributed processing environment such that at least one thread of said multiple threads of said parallel job can directly access said call/execute procedure code when executing at a processing node of said distributed processing environment; (b) allocating a unique request message buffer and a unique response message buffer to each thread of the multiple threads of said parallel job; and (c) in response to a requestor thread loading its allocated request message buffer with parameters calling for execution of the procedure at the target thread, executing said call/execute procedure code associated with the processing node executing said target thread, said executing of said call/execute procedure code including processing said call/execute procedure code from within said target thread such that said procedure is executed by the corresponding processing node without employing context switching between different tasks of said parallel job.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
42 words
The procedure executing process of claim 13, wherein when said procedure can be executed locally within the processing node processing said requestor thread, said target thread comprises said requestor thread and no context switch is required between threads of said parallel job.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
28 words
The procedure executing process of claim 14, further comprising the step of loading said requestor thread's allocated response message buffer with a result from execution of said procedure.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
78 words
The procedure executing process of claim 13, wherein said executing step (c) occurs at a remote processing node within said distributed processing environment from a processing node handling said requestor thread, and wherein said process further comprises the step of communicating to said target thread said requestor thread's call for execution of said procedure, said communicating step including sending loaded parameters from said requestor thread's request message buffer to a request message buffer allocated to said target thread.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
36 words
The procedure executing process of claim 16, further comprising the steps of interrupting processing at said remote processing node and running said target thread for accessing said call/execute procedure code associated with said remote processing node.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
50 words
The procedure executing process of claim 16, further comprising the steps of loading said target thread's allocated response message buffer with a result from execution of said procedure, and communicating said results from said target thread's allocated response message buffer to the response message buffer allocated to said requestor thread.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
31 words
The procedure executing process of claim 13, further comprising the step of providing signal bits for said requestor thread to track calling and processing of said procedure by said target thread.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
28 words
The procedure executing process of claim 13, further comprising the step of holding further processing of said requestor thread pending completion of said procedure by said target thread.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
178 words
A system for executing a procedure at a target thread comprising one of a plurality of threads of a parallel job, said system comprising: a distributed processing environment having multiple processing nodes for processing in parallel said parallel job; a plurality of operating kernels, each kernel being associated with one of said processing nodes of said distributed processing environment; call procedure code associated with each of said plurality of kernels within said distributed processing environment, said call procedure code being directly callable at each processing node by a thread executed therein without requiring a task context switch; a unique request message buffer and response message buffer for each thread of said parallel job; means for loading parameters into a requestor thread's request message buffer upon execution of a procedure call by said requestor thread; means for sending said parameters from said requestor thread's request message buffer to a request message buffer associated with said target thread; and upon receipt of said parameters, means for executing said call procedure code within said target thread without a task context switch.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
24 words
The system of claim 21, further comprising means for loading a result from execution of said procedure in the target thread's response message buffer.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
29 words
The system of claim 22, further comprising means for transferring said result from said response message buffer associated with said target thread to said requestor thread's response message buffer.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
30 words
The system of claim 21, further comprising signal bits associated with said requestor thread for said requestor thread to track calling and processing of said procedure by said target thread.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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