Analysis of a Programmed Backoff Method for Parallel Processing on Ethernets

In many parallel processing applications, task times have relatively little variability. Accordingly, many nodes will complete a task at approximately the same time. If the application is run on an Ethernet, the near-simultaneity of the task completion times implies that when the tasks attempt to communicate with some central task manager, they will bump into each other. This in turn can cause a major slowdown in communication, as the Ethernet hardware generates unnecessarily long backoff times. The work here will analyze a solution to this problem. Key words and phrases: Ethernet collisions; task times; programmed backoff.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 1998
• Where: CANPC
• Authors: Norman S. Matloff
• Keywords: CANPC 1998, Central Task Manager, Communications, Parallel Processing Applications, Task Completion Times