Process control structures for multiprocessors

Describes a new approach to implementing and using a `process´ abstraction in multiprocessors. A new paradigm is described for virtual machines which are built out of finer granularity units called Resource Control Blocks (RCB). A collection of RCBs define a virtual machine. Each RCB is independently sharable. A user has the freedom to define a set of virtual machines each spanning a different collection of resources. Although the new paradigm offers additional flexibility, it carries no additional overhead when compared to previous implementations. Backwards compatible processes are scheduled and created with the same efficiency. New processes that carry less weight are created much more efficiently. A production system has been implemented and measured on Multimax, a shared-memory multiprocessor