Optimality Results for Multiprocessor Real-Time Locking

When locking protocols are used in real-time systems, bounds on blocking times are required when ensuring timing constraints. While the term “blocking” is well-understood in the context of uniprocessor real-time systems, the same is not true in the multiprocessor case. In this paper, two definitions of blocking are presented that are applicable to suspension-based multiprocessor locking protocols. The need for two definitions arises because of differences in how suspensions are handled in existing schedulability analysis. For each definition, locking protocols are presented that have asymptotically optimal blocking behavior. In particular, protocols are presented for any job-level static-priority global or partitioned scheduling algorithm.