Utilization of a multiprocessor in command and control

The U. S. Naval Research Laboratory has been engaged for the past four years in the application of a polymorphic multiprocessor to command and control problems. The system achieved the high reliability with minimal redundancy that motivated its development. Linkage at run time of independently compiled and allocated elements was achieved primarily through the use of indirect addressing. A simple software technique was used for dynamic memory allocation. Dynamic reallocation proved unnecessary when memory fracturing or checkerboarding was found to be minor, but would have been useful in allowing roll-out in case of transitory memory overloads. The memory protection scheme implemented in the hard-ware was ineffective and the system must be treated as a monoprogrammed single processor machine during program debugging.