Implementing DVSM on the TOPSY multicomputer

We describe the implementation of distributed virtual shared memory (DVSM) on the Topsy multicomputer. The Topsy machine is a distributed memory multiprocessor based on MC68030 nodes connected by a custom circuit-switched mesh interconnection network, and runs the Meshix operating system which is System V Unix compatible. The DVSM allows distributed processes to share a paged virtual memory region, whose coherence is maintained by user-level servers using a dynamic distributed manager algorithm. The DVSM implementation is described at the user, server and kernel level, and some basic performance measurements are presented. How the DVSM is integrated with the Meshix paging mechanism is described, and a spin-lock synchronisation mechanism. An overview of the relevant parts of the Meshix operating systems is also given.

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