What is the problem?

• Getting Linux to work on systems with lots of CPUs

• Known as "scaling" the OS

  • When one CPU isn't enough...

  • Multi thread the OS to get SMP

• Why scale?

  • Problems keep growing

  • Hardware keeps growing
    • As the feature size shrinks, you get more transistors
    • Single chip multi CPUs are a reality

  • Linux has to keep up

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11 Jul 2002 lm@bitmover.com