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multiCPU

MultiCPU refers to computer systems that employ more than one central processing unit (CPU). In such systems, multiple processors can execute instructions concurrently, increasing potential throughput for parallel workloads. The term typically applies to hardware configurations with multiple physical CPUs on the motherboard, as distinct from multi-core designs where a single CPU package contains several cores. It is also used to describe configurations that the operating system treats as separate processing resources.

Most multi-CPU systems use symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) or non-uniform memory access (NUMA). In SMP, CPUs share

Operating systems provide scheduling across CPUs, with features for CPU affinity, load balancing, interrupt distribution, and

MultiCPU configurations are common in servers, data centers, high-performance computing clusters, and virtualization hosts, where workloads

Challenges include design complexity, cache-coherence overhead, NUMA tuning requirements, power consumption, and higher cost. As hardware

memory
and
I/O
resources
with
cache-coherence
protocols
maintaining
consistency.
NUMA
distributes
memory
across
processors,
improving
scalability
but
requiring
more
complex
memory
tuning.
Interconnects
such
as
crossbars
or
rings
link
CPUs
and
memory
controllers
and
influence
latency
and
bandwidth.
Modern
servers
rely
on
coherent
caches
with
MESI-like
protocols.
thread
scheduling.
Linux,
Windows
Server,
and
various
UNIX
variants
support
multi-processor
configurations,
NUMA
awareness,
and
hot-add
or
offline-capable
CPUs
on
select
platforms.
Virtualization
platforms
can
present
virtual
CPUs
that
map
onto
physical
CPUs
in
multi-CPU
hosts.
such
as
databases,
large-scale
web
services,
and
scientific
simulations
benefit
from
parallel
processing
and
increased
concurrency.
They
can
offer
higher
memory
bandwidth
and
I/O
capacity
for
thread-intensive
applications.
advances,
many
workloads
run
efficiently
on
high-core-count
single
packages,
but
multi-CPU
systems
remain
important
for
scalability,
reliability,
and
memory
bandwidth
in
selected
deployments.
Effective
software
and
virtualization
support
is
essential
to
realizing
gains
from
multi-CPU
hardware.