Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Subscribe
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Subscribe
    Home Development
    • Development

    Keeping the Orchestra Together: Dynamic Software for Distributed Systems

    Written by

    Peter Coffee
    Published October 21, 2002
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

      Theres poetry in the process of turning our ideas into machine instructions. Of all the types of product that I get to review at eWEEK Labs, high-level language compilers are therefore my favorites–especially those whose output options include machine-code listings, with the high-level language statements interspersed as comments. I wish that more of our technologies offered more such disclosure of what theyre doing, and how (and even why) theyre doing it.

      What brings this to mind was a presentation at last weeks Microprocessor Forum from Masa Motomura, a project manager at NEC Corp., describing the companys Dynamically Reconfigurable Processor design. The device augments an array of processors with supporting logic that can reconfigure them into a task-specific configuration, switching from one to another in a single clock cycle.

      If you think its a challenge to build a C compiler for a single processor, deciding which variables will live in scarce on-chip registers and which will live in memory, imagine the task of “compiling” an entire array of processors into a set of data paths and finite state machines. Thats what the compilation tools for the DRP must do; the high-level prototype tools already developed by NEC provide useful visualizations that expose the structure of their proposed solution to a problem.

      In introductory remarks before the NEC presentation, In-Stat/MDR Principal Analyst Max Baron (a senior editor of the revered newsletter Microprocessor Report and one of the Forum hosts), observed that the task of compiling software is vastly complicated as processing becomes distributed over distances that are non-negligible compared with speed-of-light traversals during a single clock cycle. “With an array of 512 processors [as provided by NECs DRP-1 prototype], software needs to be aware of when its asking for something at the opposite corner of the array; how many cycles it needs to allow,” Baron said. Hes right, but not only on the scale of microchips.

      On the much larger scale of distributed systems within an enterprise, let alone the global scale contemplated by proponents of Web services, the choice between what we can get right away and what we can have if were willing to wait must soon become part of our algorithms. More than one path through a problem, depending on the available resources, may need to be simultaneously pursued, so that when the requesting process says, “I cant wait any longer, give me your best shot right now,” theres a complete if perhaps not perfect answer on hand.

      “Orchestration” is the verb that Im starting to hear, increasingly often, to describe this difficult mission: Its a good word, including overtones of the way that an orchestral director conducts a piece one way in one kind of setting and another way in a different hall with different acoustics. The audience for many kinds of distributed solution is tired of watching an endless open rehearsal: Lets hope that the downbeat comes soon.

      Tell me about the time it takes to do the right thing, and do it right.

      Peter Coffee
      Peter Coffee
      Peter Coffee is Director of Platform Research at salesforce.com, where he serves as a liaison with the developer community to define the opportunity and clarify developers' technical requirements on the company's evolving Apex Platform. Peter previously spent 18 years with eWEEK (formerly PC Week), the national news magazine of enterprise technology practice, where he reviewed software development tools and methods and wrote regular columns on emerging technologies and professional community issues.Before he began writing full-time in 1989, Peter spent eleven years in technical and management positions at Exxon and The Aerospace Corporation, including management of the latter company's first desktop computing planning team and applied research in applications of artificial intelligence techniques. He holds an engineering degree from MIT and an MBA from Pepperdine University, he has held teaching appointments in computer science, business analytics and information systems management at Pepperdine, UCLA, and Chapman College.

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Artificial Intelligence

      9 Best AI 3D Generators You Need...

      Sam Rinko - June 25, 2024 0
      AI 3D Generators are powerful tools for many different industries. Discover the best AI 3D Generators, and learn which is best for your specific use case.
      Read more
      Cloud

      RingCentral Expands Its Collaboration Platform

      Zeus Kerravala - November 22, 2023 0
      RingCentral adds AI-enabled contact center and hybrid event products to its suite of collaboration services.
      Read more
      Artificial Intelligence

      8 Best AI Data Analytics Software &...

      Aminu Abdullahi - January 18, 2024 0
      Learn the top AI data analytics software to use. Compare AI data analytics solutions & features to make the best choice for your business.
      Read more
      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Video

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2024 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.