- 2073 Shrawan · 4 marks
Multiprocessor performance and reliability
Short answer
Multiple processors execute tasks in parallel, raising throughput up to n-fold and reducing execution time. Reliability improves because a failed processor can be bypassed, allowing graceful degradation and maintaining availability without system shutdown.
Describe how multiprocessor systems increase the performance level and reliability.
Performance: several processors execute different programs, or parts of one program, at the same time (parallelism). The throughput of a system with n processors can rise by up to n times, and a large problem is finished faster by dividing it among the processors. The computation and I/O of different jobs can also overlap.
Reliability and availability: if one processor fails, the remaining processors can take over its work, and the system continues at reduced performance (graceful degradation) instead of stopping. Failed processors can be repaired or replaced without shutting down the whole system, and the work of memory and I/O modules can also be taken over by others through redundant paths. Hence the system is more reliable and available than a single-processor system.
Additional gain: the system can be expanded by adding processors (scalability).
✓ Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort)
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