[论文解读] Multi-core: Adding a New Dimension to Computing

Md Tanvir Al Amin|arXiv (Cornell University)|Nov 15, 2010

Parallel Computing and Optimization Techniques参考文献 5被引用 4

一句话总结

本文提出多核处理器作为维持计算性能增长的新范式，将重点从提升时钟频率转向增加独立处理器核心的数量。本文回顾了最先进的多核技术及并行计算的软件支持，结论是普遍的并行处理将在未来数十年定义计算领域。

ABSTRACT

Invention of Transistors in 1948 started a new era in technology, called Solid State Electronics. Since then, sustaining development and advancement in electronics and fabrication techniques has caused the devices to shrink in size and become smaller, paving the quest for increasing density and clock speed. That quest has suddenly come to a halt due to fundamental bounds applied by physical laws. But, demand for more and more computational power is still prevalent in the computing world. As a result, the microprocessor industry has started exploring the technology along a different dimension. Speed of a single work unit (CPU) is no longer the concern, rather increasing the number of independent processor cores packed in a single package has become the new concern. Such processors are commonly known as multi-core processors. Scaling the performance by using multiple cores has gained so much attention from the academia and the industry, that not only desktops, but also laptops, PDAs, cell phones and even embedded devices today contain these processors. In this paper, we explore state of the art technologies for multi-core processors and existing software tools to support parallelism. We also discuss present and future trend of research in this field. From our survey, we conclude that next few decades are going to be marked by the success of this Ubiquitous parallel processing.

研究动机与目标

• 解决由于时钟频率和微型化物理限制导致的单核CPU性能停滞问题。
• 解释微处理器行业在频率扩展停止后，如何通过转向多核扩展来应对持续增长的计算需求。
• 调查现有技术与软件工具，以支持在多核架构上实现高效的并行编程。
• 分析多核计算的当前与未来研究趋势，以预测行业长期发展方向。

提出的方法

• 回顾自1948年以来固态电子学与晶体管技术的进展，以提供计算范式转变的背景。
• 分析阻碍基于时钟频率和器件微型化的传统性能扩展的物理与技术限制。
• 研究多核处理器架构作为可扩展的替代方案，强调集成密度与并行执行能力。
• 调查专为多核平台并行编程提供支持的软件工具与运行时系统。
• 综合学术与工业研究趋势，预测多核计算的演进方向。

实验结果

研究问题

• RQ1 制约单核CPU时钟频率提升的根本物理限制是什么？
• RQ2 在频率扩展停止后，微处理器行业如何应对持续增长的计算能力需求？
• RQ3 哪些技术与软件支持系统能够有效利用多核处理器？
• RQ4 多核计算的当前与新兴研究趋势是什么，它们如何塑造并行处理的未来？

主要发现

• 对更高时钟频率与更小晶体管的追求已达到物理极限，导致单核处理器的传统性能扩展停止。
• 多核处理器已成为主导解决方案，通过提升并行性而非提高频率来实现性能扩展。
• 多核技术现已广泛应用，涵盖台式机、笔记本电脑、PDA、手机及嵌入式系统。
• 研究与产业界正在积极发展工具与技术，以支持在多核平台上进行并行编程。
• 本文结论认为，未来数十年将由普遍并行处理的兴起所定义，其驱动力正是多核架构。