Modular computing architecture having common communication interface

摘要

A distributed, shared memory computer architecture that is organized into a set of functionally independent processing nodes operating in a global, shared address space. Each node has one or more local processors, local memory and includes a common communication interface for communicating with other modules within the system via a message protocol. The common communication interface provides a single high-speed communications center within each node to operatively couple the node to one or more external processing nodes, an external routing module, an input/output (I/O) module. The common communication interface that facilitates the ability to incrementally add and swap the nodes of the system without disrupting the overall computing resources of the system.