Abstract: An apparatus and method is disclosed for allowing a multiprocessor computer system with shared memory distributed among multiple nodes to appear like a single-node environment. The single-node environment is implemented with a memory map that has a unique address for every memory location in the system. Overlapping address spaces in the multinode environment are also assigned unique representative addresses that are translated to actual addresses in conformance with the multinode environment. The apparatus and method allows a wide variety of operating systems to be run on the multinode environment. Additionally, industry standard BIOS and chip sets can be used.

Abstract: An apparatus and method is disclosed for allowing a user process to advise or control an operating system to place a process on a particular node or a node within a set of nodes. When a user process makes a system call to the operating system to either create, execute, move, or attach a process, a specified system resource is passed to the operating system with the system call. This advises the operating system to store the process on a node containing the system resource identified in the system call. The user process can also require the operating system to store a process on a particular node.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for initializing a shared-memory, multinode multiprocessor computer system. The nodes in the multiprocessor computer system separately and independently run standard PC-based BIOS routines in parallel for initialization of the nodes. These BIOS routines set addresses of hardware components on each node as though the nodes are in a single-node environment. After completion of BIOS, the addresses of the hardware components are reprogrammed to conform with the multinode environment. A master processor then takes control to boot the operating system on the multinode environment.