Parallel database systems have delivered on the promise of providing excellent, linear performance speedups for both decision support and transaction processing workloads across a variety of parallel system platforms. The challenge is now to extend those results across the entire open systems spectrum of loosely coupled environments while realizing the inherent high availability of such systems. The Informix eXtended Parallel Server (XPS) will accomplish that goal.XPS is the third and latest in the series of Online database servers that are based upon the Informix Dynamic Scalable Architecture (DSA). Earlier Online DSA servers have proven the effectiveness of the SMP-based high performance parallel data query (PDQ) technology that is the foundation of XPS: multi-threaded process groups, table partitioning, pipelined hash-partitioned operators, light access methods, and parallel resource management. XPS extends that PDQ technology across the continuum from small clusters of large SMP systems to massively parallel clusters of SMP or uniprocessor systems.

Abstract This paper describes the design and implementation of a kernel for the distributed programming language StarMod. The distributed programming kernel was written in a subset of StarMod supported by a concurrent programming kernel. Kernel issues addressed include process representation, I/O device management, signal semantics, system utilities, network communication and the implementation of high‐level language communication primitives. We conclude with a summary of our experiences in the development of a ‘bare machine’ kernel for a network of microprocessors.