Implementation of scalable blocking locks using an adaptive thread scheduler

Abstract

Blocking locks are commonly used in parallel programs to improve application performance and system throughput. However, most implementations of such locks suffer from two major problems - latency and scalability. In this paper, we propose an implementation of blocking locks using scheduler adaptation which exploits the interaction between thread schedulers and locks. By experimentation using well-known multiprocessor applications on a KSR2 multiprocessor, we demonstrate how such an implementation considerably reduces the latency and improves the scalability of blocking locks.