Marionette: a system for parallel distributed programming using a master/slave model

Abstract

Marionette, a software package for distributed parallel programming in an environment of networked heterogeneous computer systems is described. It uses a master/slave model in which otherwise sequential application programmes can invoke worker operations (asynchronous remote procedure calls executed by slave processes) and context operations (updates to slaves' process states). The master and slaves also interact through shared data structures that can be modified only by the master. The Marionette runtime system is a heterogeneous remote procedure call package. It maintains the consistency of shared data structures, recovers transparently from slave processor failure, and assigns operations to slaves. The Marionette system includes tools for debugging, automated compilation of program binaries for multiple architectures, and distributing binaries to remote file systems. Measurements of a UNIX-based implementation to Marionette and a parallel ray-tracing renderer are presented.<>