Ordered and reliable maintenance of inter-process relationships in a distributed multiprocessor

Claim 1

A method for maintaining inter-process relationships in a multiprocessor system, the system having a plurality of distributed, interconnected processors, each of said processors having a memory, said method comprising: ordering said plurality of processors; establishing one of said plurality of processors as a control processor, said control processor maintaining an inter-process relationship lock; creating a process set having at least one process as a member, the process members of said process set having an inter-process relationship, said inter-process relationship represented in said memory of said each of said processors; generating on a modifying processor among said plurality of processors a modification to said inter-process relationship; requesting the inter-process relationship lock of said control processor and, when no processor has the inter-process relationship lock, acknowledging to said modifying processor that said modifying processor has the inter-process relationship lock; if said modifying processor has the inter-process relationship lock, said modifying processor sending an inter-process relationship modification message to each of said processors in order and then relinquishing said inter-process relationship lock to said control processor; if said modifying processor does not have the inter-process relationship lock, continuing from said requesting step; receiving said inter-process relationship modification message; and processing said inter-process relationship modification message.

Claim 2

A method for maintaining inter-process relationships in a multiprocessor system, the system having a plurality of distributed, interconnected processors, each of said processors having a memory, said method comprising: ordering said plurality of processors; establishing one of said plurality of processors as a control processor, said control processor maintaining an inter-process relationship lock; creating a process set having at least one process as a member, the process members of said process set having an inter-process relationship, said inter-process relationship represented in said memory of said each of said processors; generating on a modifying processor among said plurality of processors a modification to said inter-process relationship; requesting the inter-process relationship lock of said control processor and, when no processor has the inter-process relationship lock, acknowledging to said modifying processor that said modifying processor has the inter-process relationship lock; if said modifying processor has the inter-process relationship lock, said modifying processor sending an inter-process relationship modification message to each of said processors in order and then relinquishing said inter-process relationship lock to said control processor; if said modifying processor does not have the inter-process relationship lock, continuing from said requesting step; receiving said inter-process relationship modification message; and processing said inter-process relationship modification message.