anderson%charming.Berkeley.EDU@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (11/15/90)
Archive-name: aero/14-Nov-90
Original-posting-by: anderson%charming.Berkeley.EDU@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU
Original-subject: AERO distributed programming software available
Archive-site: icsi-ftp.Berkeley.EDU [128.32.201.55]
Archive-directory: /pub/dash
Reposted-by: emv@ox.com (Edward Vielmetti)
The software described below is now available for experimental use.
It can be obtained by anonymous FTP from icsi-ftp.Berkeley.EDU
in the file pub/dash/aero.tar. It has been tested (but not thoroughly)
on Sun 3s and 4s under SunOS 3.5, 4.0 and 4.1,
and will need some work to run on other systems.
-----------------------
AERO: A UNIX-BASED SYSTEM FOR DISTRIBUTED PARALLEL PROGRAMMING
AERO (Asynchronously Executed Remote Operations) is a
system for distributed parallel programming on a network of
UNIX systems, using large numbers of hosts to work together
on a CPU-intensive task. An AERO program is written in C
with calls to a runtime library that handles remote process
creation, communication, and scheduling. AERO can be used
only on hosts whose operating systems include BSD UNIX net-
working features (sockets, rsh, etc.). The hosts need not
have the same CPU type.
AERO uses a ``master/slave'' model: there is a single
main process (the master) and a set of ``slave'' processes
on other hosts. AERO provides the following features:
(1) The master can invoke functions (``worker opera-
tions'') that execute on a single slave and return a
value to the master. After invoking a worker opera-
tion, the master proceeds without waiting for the
operation to finish; it must later explicitly
``accept'' the return value of the operation.
(2) The master and slave can ``share'' data structures.
Only the master is allowed to modify these struc-
tures. It must notify the runtime library whenever a
shared structure is created or modified.
(3) The master can call procedures (``context opera-
tions'') that are executed on all slaves and do not
return a value.
AERO also includes a utility for distribution and com-
pilation of the slave program.
AERO is available by anonymous FTP from icsi-
ftp.Berkeley.EDU in the file pub/dash/aero.tar. If you find
bugs in AERO, port it to other versions of UNIX, make
enhancements to it, or have questions, please contact me.
David Anderson
541 Evans Hall
University of California, Berkeley
anderson@snow.Berkeley.EDU
(415) 642-4979