Multicore requires OS rework, Windows architect advises

[JMH]

With chip makers continuing to increase the number of cores they include on each new generation of their processors, perhaps it's time to rethink the basic architecture of today's operating systems, suggested Dave Probert, a kernel architect within the Windows core operating systems division at Microsoft.

The current approach to harnessing the power of multicore processors is complicated and not entirely successful, he argued. The key may not be in throwing more energy into refining techniques such as parallel programming, but rather rethinking the basic abstractions that make up the operating systems model.

Today's computers don't get enough performance out of their multicore chips, Probert said. "Why should you ever, with all this parallel hardware, ever be waiting for your computer?" he asked

Source -
Multicore requires OS rework, Windows architect advises

 

[whs]

Good find JMH. It is about time they get started with a new archtecture. With 4, 6 or 8 cores, the current Kernel approach will not do.

 

[JimLewandowski]

I work on the largescale IBM mainframe computers. Truly pre-emptible CPs, real-time OS. It's a multiple CPU arrangement with shared memory (but each processor/CP has its own Lx cache) - i.e. tightly-coupled processing architecture.

Prioritization is a HUGE part of the IBM os (called z/OS). You can manage every tiny detail of your workload and get things to run exactly the way you want.

Not to mention an I/O subsystem that can drive 20,000 concurrent I/Os.

 

[Consequences]

Microsoft needs more thinkers like Probert. I wonder if it is possible to patch in a new architecture. It would be awesome to see it happen for Windows 7. Good find, good read. Thanks.

 

[cloud8521]

Microsoft needs more thinkers like Probert. I wonder if it is possible to patch in a new architecture. It would be awesome to see it happen for Windows 7. Good find, good read. Thanks.

you can patch in anything if you know how to do it right, it may be a matter of weather or not they think its too much for a patch. IOW, will it be worth the time and money, or will they wait till the next os to put it in.

on my hand i hope they patch it

 

[MilesAhead]

I dunno', on my quad core they could have reduced the waiting considerably if they configured it with 2 HD off the shelf. The bitch is getting stuff to load if something HD intensive is running. I set up Firefox to run out of a ramdisk just because I can't stand to wait 2 minutes for it to come up if I'm in the middle of a video mux.

For a short time I remember seeing some HP desktops for sale at BestBuy with a pair of 320GB Sata drives. For some reason they went back to the one big HD scenario.

If the HD can't keep up now, how's it gonna' be with PCs configured with 8 cores standard? Just make sure you open all your apps first before you start one of them really doing anything!!

 

[arkhi]

Good. I hope they would make this monster useful someday.

 

[FuturDreamz]

Good. I hope they would make this monster useful someday.

Me too. with 256 cores and all of them at 80-90 usage, there must be some really bad bugs in the os.

 

[arkhi]

Good. I hope they would make this monster useful someday.

Me too. with 256 cores and all of them at 80-90 usage, there must be some really bad bugs in the os.

It's actually Intel doing a test on Win Server 2008 R2's max support for 256 cores (google it). They're using a software to load all the cores to the highest. It's basically a benchmark software, since there aren't really any real software that can fully utilize all of those.

 

[FuturDreamz]

ah. still be cool to have so many cores.

 

[QuackPot]

I wonder if GPGPU will be used to replace CPUs in the future? May be easier that programming everything for multicores.

 

[Boris]

I dunno', on my quad core they could have reduced the waiting considerably if they configured it with 2 HD off the shelf. The bitch is getting stuff to load if something HD intensive is running. I set up Firefox to run out of a ramdisk just because I can't stand to wait 2 minutes for it to come up if I'm in the middle of a video mux.

For a short time I remember seeing some HP desktops for sale at BestBuy with a pair of 320GB Sata drives. For some reason they went back to the one big HD scenario.

If the HD can't keep up now, how's it gonna' be with PCs configured with 8 cores standard? Just make sure you open all your apps first before you start one of them really doing anything!!

View attachment 61923

As a noob in this field I must agree that HD i/o seems the biggest bottle neck in user experience at the moment.

 

[AlexGP]

Good. I hope they would make this monster useful someday.

One question comes in mind... can it run Crysis?

 

[BugMeister]

- only if you don't use A/A..

 

[MadMaxData]

The bitch is getting stuff to load if something HD intensive is running.

Absolutely. Many novice users, and even some experienced users, don't realize that the major bottleneck in a systems speed is not your RAM, or your CPU, it's the HDD. OS will increase speed when HDD technology catches up. They are way behind.