Xref: utzoo comp.sys.ncr:514 comp.arch:18359
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!tera.com!doc
From: doc@tera.com (Dan Cummings)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ncr,comp.arch
Subject: Re: Terradata architecures
Keywords: YNet Bus
Message-ID: <1990Oct1.200613.635@tera.com>
Date: 1 Oct 90 20:06:13 GMT
References: <211@bilpin.UUCP> <1990Sep28.020717.22610@dhw68k.cts.com>
Sender: news@tera.com
Organization: Tera Computer Company, Seattle, WA
Lines: 16

In <1990Sep28.020717.22610@dhw68k.cts.com> stein@dhw68k.cts.com (Rick 'Transputer' Stein) writes:
>I'd be pretty amazed to see a massively parallel computation system built
>up with busses.  That contention problem is a giant killer, and that's
>why message-passing scalar systems are kicking butt, even if they are
>a bit tougher to built software.  Shared memory systems are technological
>dinosaurs.
>>
>>Nick
>-- 
Shared memory systems are hardly technological dinosaurs.   The fact
that bus contention becomes unmanageable in large systems just means
that busses aren't a good idea.   There are a variety of other ways
to implement shared memory.   Shared memory,  in fact,  can be
demonstrated to be the only cost effective solution.

doc