18 Questions
What are the three main advantages of a multiprocessor system?
Increased throughput, economy of scale, and increased reliability
What is the difference between asymmetric multiprocessing and symmetric multiprocessing (SMP)?
Asymmetric uses a master processor to schedule and allocate work, while SMP has each processor running an identical copy of the OS
What is the main reason for using multiple hardware and software duplicates in a fault-tolerant multiprocessor system?
To take the majority result and mask component failures
Which of the following is NOT a key characteristic of a multiprocessor system?
Dedicated memory for each processor
What is the main reason for the speed-up in a multiprocessor system not being linear with the number of processors?
Overhead from inter-processor communication and coordination
What is the key benefit of the 'graceful degradation' property of a multiprocessor system?
The system can continue to perform operations proportional to the level of operations of the surviving parts
What type of interrupt is generated when the user presses the power button to boot up the computer?
Hardware interrupt
When the CPU encounters a page fault while executing an instruction, what type of interrupt is generated?
Synchronous interrupt
Which of the following is NOT a responsibility of the Interrupt Service Routine (ISR)?
Schedule the next process to run
In a multiprocessor system, how do the CPUs typically coordinate to handle interrupts?
Interrupts are dynamically assigned to the least busy CPU
Which of the following is a key difference between hardware and software interrupts?
Hardware interrupts are generated by external devices, while software interrupts are generated by the CPU
In a multiprocessor system, which of the following is a key advantage of having a shared interrupt controller?
Better load balancing of interrupt processing
What is the primary purpose of interrupts in an operating system?
To signal the CPU to stop its current activities and execute a specific part of the operating system
Which of the following is NOT a type of interrupt?
Kernel interrupt
What is the primary purpose of hardware interrupts?
To signal that an external device needs attention from the operating system
Which of the following statements about software interrupts is correct?
Software interrupts are used to request system calls from the operating system
In a multiprocessor system, each processor typically has:
Its own registers and cache, but shares the same memory with other processors
What is the primary advantage of a clustered system over a traditional multiprocessor system?
Higher availability and fault tolerance
Learn about multiprocessor systems that contain two or more processors working together, sharing resources like computer bus, system clock, memory, and I/O devices. Discover the advantages of multiprocessor systems, such as increased throughput, economy of scale, and improved reliability.
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