Re: [9fans] parallel programming in Plan 9

[andrey mirtchovski <mirtchov@cpsc.ucalgary.ca>]

> Does someone mind explaining to me the advantages of using Plan 9 to 
> write/run parallel programs over say writing a "traditional" parallel 
> program using MPI? 

There was an MPI implementation using Plan 9 cross-system mounts.
There were even talks of rewriting it as a proper file system.  The
paper was rejected because a) nobody cares about reliability; b)
everybody cares about squeezing the last 15µs out of their
implementation; c) plan9 won't be interesting as research for a while
more -- Linux is where it's at; d) the paper wasn't all that good.

I can tell you where it is, if you're really interested.

As for Plan 9 vs MPI -- as Presotto said, threads and lightweight
procs are perfect for handling load on a single machine (SMP
preferably -- you should see how two or more cpus "soak load", to use
Geoff's words, under Plan 9).  You wouldn't get a fast MPI
imlementation under Plan 9 unless you dig very deep into the OS, but
then you can't beat Plan 9 for exporting services and interfaces for
them (file servers) for others to use.

Currently restricted to Plan 9-based clients only :)

andrey