What is parallel processing?
Parallel processing is the simultaneous processing of the same task on two or more microprocessors in order to obtain faster results. The computer resources can include a single computer with multiple processors, or a number of computers connected by a network, or a combination of both. The processors access data through shared memory. Some supercomputer parallel processing systems have hundreds of thousands of microprocessors. With the help of parallel processing, a number of computations can be performed at once, bringing down the time required to complete a project. Parallel processing is particularly useful in projects that require complex computations, such as weather modeling and digital special effects. Let’s take a real-life example to understand the efficacy of parallel processing. If a busy shopping mall has got only a single cash counter, the customers will form a single queue, and wait for their turn. If there are two cash counters, the task can be effectively split. The cu
Parallel Processing is the ability of the system to run, manage, and maintain multiple threads at the same time (synchronously). It’s the five keys and five operators needed to run each forklift independently. Degree of parallelism is a measure which indicates how many parallel processes can run at once before the system is overloaded or maximized. For instance, if you have five stacks of lumber, and seven forklifts, you can still only operate five forklifts at a time, indicating a degree of parallelism of five. This is a very simplistic explanation of the parallel processing theories. There are many books in the marketplace that describe in great detail how parallel processing and degree of parallelism is reached. It is not the scope of this series to discuss each in extreme detail, only to introduce the concepts as they relate to VLDB. Parallel processing enables speed, and division of tasks across CPU’s. This is also where the concept of load balancing comes in to play. Load balanci
