XPXM/C: a taxonomy of processor coupling techniques

A well established but ad hoc set of interconnection structures, used in the classification of shared-memory multiprocessors, is developed into a simple orthogonal taxonomy of processor coupling techniques, ´XPXM´, based on the multiplicity of simultaneously-active access paths between processors and memory modules. Channel modules are then introduced and used to define the corresponding ´XPXC´ taxonomy describing multiprocessors which do not employ shared memory. Examples of existing multiprocessor designs in each class of the combined taxonomy are presented, yielding a representative overview of the coupling techniques in most common use.