Symmetrical and Master-Slave Multiprocessing Architecture - Assignment Example

The symmetrical architecture allows the idle processor to process the information and does not allow the busy processor to process the information or task. Symmetrical multiprocessing architecture is often known to be rapid and the most commonly utilized architecture regarding multiprocessing. If one processor in the symmetrical multiprocessing architecture fails the other processors remain intact and the processing continues (Hagersten & Hill, 2001).

Master slave multiprocessing architecture makes one of the processors dominate all the other processors. The information is first received by the master processor that assigns the task to the other processor or resends the information to the idle processor. The master-slave multiprocessing architecture is a bit more complex as compared to the symmetrical architecture. If the master processor fails, the entire processing system fails. All tasks are assigned by the master processor to the other processors in the master-slave processing architecture (Lyonnard, Yoo, Baghdadi & Jerraya, 2001).

In the symmetrical multiprocessing architecture, the Random Access Memory (RAM) remains the same for all the processors in the architecture. The RAM remains dedicated to one processor at one time, which is involved in the processing phenomenon. The system maintains the priority of certain tasks making the RAM dedicated to the most valued and important tasks. Similarly, all the processors in the symmetrical multiprocessing architecture share the memory, input and output devices, interrupts systems, and other relevant system resources (Lyonnard, Yoo, Baghdadi & Jerraya, 2001). On the other hand, in the master-slave multiprocessing architecture, inputs and outputs, memory, etc are directly controlled by the master processor. Common examples of symmetrical multiprocessing architectures are the dual-core processors made by Intel and other companies (Hagersten & Hill, 2001).

Hyper-threading is often associated with the Pentium 4, Intel Atom, and Core I desktop processors. Hyper-threading makes multitasking to be executed with the help of a physical layer. Hyper-threading allows the parallelization of similar tasks to be executed not simultaneously but at the same time by allocating space in the processor to process the multiple tasks at the same time. Hyper-threading remains to be a common problem solver in case of multitasking issues.

Hyper-threading makes the processing more rapid in combination with the multiprocessing architecture. The latest technology of the Core I processors is a viable example of the combination of the symmetrical multiprocessing architecture and hyperthreading that makes the processing of multiple tasks even faster than what is expected as compared to the similar type of processing units available. In the hyper-threading scheme certain portions of the microprocessor are duplicated which makes the processing simpler and faster. Through hyper-threading, the optimization of the scheduled tasks in the operating system becomes easier and less burdensome for the micro-processing unit or units.

The most common application of the symmetrical multiprocessing systems is the normal desktop or laptop computers that most often today utilize multilayered processors by utilizing the symmetrical multiprocessing architecture (Schimmel, 1994).