Muhammad H Arshad

US Patent:

61087572, Aug 22, 2000

Filed:

Feb 28, 1997

Appl. No.:

8/808921

Inventors:

Muhammad Arshad - Reynoldsburg OH

Assignee:

Lucent Technologies Inc. - Murray Hill NJ

International Classification:

G06F 1200

US Classification:

711152

Abstract:

A method for efficiently acquiring and releasing a shared locking mechanism in a multiprocessor environment comprises updating variables associated with the locking mechanism and variables associated with processors seeking to acquire the lock. If the lock is currently occupied, a processor waits in accordance with information initialized in a spin variable associated with the processor. Upon releasing the lock, a relinquishing processor determines whether there are other processors waiting to acquire the lock. If other processors are waiting to acquire the lock, the relinquishing processor alters a successor variable associated with the waiting processor in the waiting processor's local shared memory so that the lock mechanism can be passed on and a first-in and first-out behavior of a waiting queue can be maintained.

US Patent:

6173375, Jan 9, 2001

Filed:

Feb 28, 1997

Appl. No.:

8/808920

Inventors:

Muhammad Arshad - Reynoldsburg OH

Assignee:

Lucent Technologies Inc. - DE

International Classification:

G06F 1200

US Classification:

711152

Abstract:

A method for efficiently updating as shared data structure in a multiprocessor environment comprises accessing a queue variable associated with time-based data events in the data structure. Information associated with the queue variable is used to determine the point of insertion of a new time-based data event. If a new time based data event is inserted, the data of the queue variable of a preceding time-based data event is altered to identify the new time-based data event. An embodiment employing a contention-free locking mechanism is also disclosed.