Note: Many topics at this site are reduced versions of the text in "The Encyclopedia of Networking and Telecommunications." Search results will not be as extensive as a search of the book's CD-ROM.

A multiprocessor system is a computer that uses more than one processor to process the workload. Off-the-shelf multiprocessor systems are now common. A motherboard that supports Intel processors can be purchased for a few hundred dollars. Most network operating systems now support multiprocessing. Superservers may include an array of processors, along with a custom high-performance bus, tens of megabytes of error-correcting memory, RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks) systems, and redundant features such as multiple power supplies. Figure 1 illustrates multiprocessing system configurations. On the left, four processors share the same bus. On the right, six multiprocessor systems are interconnected via a high-speed switching fabric.

Figure 1 (see book)

This topic continues in "The Encyclopedia of Networking and Telecommunications" with a discussion of the following:

• Asymmetrical and symmetrical multiprocessing designs
• Beowulf multiprocessing system design
• SMP and parallel architectures
• Switching fabrics and bus design
• Loosely coupled, shared-nothing model
• Tightly coupled model
• Multithreading (parallel processing) techniques
• Multiprocessing system categories
• SMP computers
• Basic clusters
• SMP clusters
• MPP (massively parallel processing) systems
• Supercomputers
• Processing intercommunication techniques
• Message-passing
• NUMA (Non-Uniform Memory-Access) architecture
• VI Architecture
• Trends in multiprocessing
• HPC (high- performance computing) initiatives
• Massive parallel processing
• Distributed computer networks
• Parallel processing in switch design
• Reliable server pools

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