Load information distribution via active interconnection networks

Existing multicomputers typically use passive, dedicated network interfaces. By comparison, an active interconnect network can manipulate the data in messages transitting through a node; these might use existing systolic processors as the network interface. Active interconnects will become increasingly common in distributed memory multicomputers because they can be used to implement a variety of routing algorithms, reduction operators and efficient memory-fetch operations. The authors measures the effectiveness of distributing load information using active interconnection networks. He does not expect the benefits of distributing load information to solely justify the existence of active interconnection networks; rather, he foresees that active networks will shortly be commonplace, and seeks to measure their benefit for tightly coupled distributed operating systems.<>