US 12021679

Patent Overview — US12021679B1, "Cluster computing"

Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/[US12021679](/patent/US12021679)/en

Bibliographic data (as listed): Patent number US12021679B1; application US18/479,720; filing date 2023-10-02; granted/publication date 2024-06-25; priority date 2006-06-13; inventors Zvi Tannenbaum and Dean E. Dauger; current and original assignee Advanced Cluster Systems Inc; legal status listed as Active, with anticipated expiration 2027-05-04. Classification includes G06F9/5072 (grid computing), G06F15/76, and G06F9/54 (interprogram communication).

Purpose: Computer clusters comprise two or more computers, microprocessors, and/or processor cores ("nodes") that intercommunicate to accomplish a task as though they were a single computer. Many application programs are not designed to benefit from clusters; some run on only a single node, and some include an interpreter ("kernel") designed to communicate with a single node — Mathematica® is given as an example. Grid computers instead use a master node managing slave/computational nodes, with kernels running on single nodes and intermediate results not affecting other jobs.

Plain-language scope (from the supplied text): Embodiments add cluster computing functionality to a program without access to its source code. A first, second, and third processor are provided with respective kernels translating commands into code for execution. Cluster node modules send commands to their kernels and communicate with one another via the first cluster node module, which may include a data structure storing messages from other modules. A cluster node module can accept and interpret instructions from a user interface and appear as a single-node kernel to that interface. Support may include Message Passing Interface (MPI) calls, a toolkit with library calls or high-level cluster commands, and Macintosh®, Windows®-based PC, and Unix/Linux workstations. Command line or Mathematica front-end interfaces are mentioned.

What the excerpt does not establish: It does not establish claim text, prosecution history, the litigation listed in the source, ownership changes, validity, or prior art beyond what is quoted; the excerpt is expressly partial.