University of Washington News and Information (03/10/10) Hickey, Hannah

University of Washington (UW) researchers have devised a method for coaxing predictable behavior out of modern, multiprocessor computers by automatically parceling sets of commands and assigning them to specific sites. The program runs faster than it would on a single processor, due to the concurrent calculation of the command sets. “We’ve developed a basic technique that could be used in a range of systems, from cell phones to data centers,” says UW professor Luis Ceze. “Ultimately, I want to make it really easy for people to design high-performing, low-energy and secure systems.” One application of the system can aid the proper testing of programs by making errors reproducible. A software-based version of this system, which could be used on existing machines, was presented this week by UW graduate student Tom Bergan at ACM’s International Conference on Architectural Support for Programming Languages and Operating Systems.
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