Node translation and protection in a clustered multiprocessor system

A method of node translation for communicating over virtual channels in a clustered multiprocessor system, the clustered multiprocessor system including a plurality of processing element nodes, including a local processing element node and a remote processing element node, and a network interconnect coupled between the processing element nodes for sending communications between the processing element nodes, comprising:

• assigning a first connection descriptor to a first virtual connection having a first endpoint node which is a local node on the local processing element node;
• assigning a second connection descriptor to a second virtual connection having a second endpoint node which is a remote node on the remote processing element node;
• defining a local connection table configured to be accessed using the first and the second connection descriptors to produce a first and a second system node identifier for the first and the second endpoint nodes, respectively;
• generating a communication request including a target connection descriptor;
• in response to the communication request, accessing the local connection table to produce the first system node identifier if the target connection descriptor is the first connection descriptor, and to produce the second system node identifier if the target connection descriptor is the second connection descriptor;
• and
• sending a memory request to the endpoint node identified by accessing the local connection table.

A clustered multiprocessor system, comprising:

• a plurality of processing element nodes, including a local processing element node and a remote processing element node;
• a network interconnect coupled between the processing element nodes for sending communications between the processing element nodes;
• and
• a node translation apparatus having:
• a memory configured to store a local connection table having a plurality of entries indexed by a connection descriptor, each entry of the local connection table storing a system node identifier for the endpoint of a virtual connection;
• and
• a communication engine configured to receive a communication request including a connection descriptor from a user process, to access the local connection table using the connection descriptor of the communication request to produce the system node identifier for the endpoint node for the virtual connection, and to send a memory request to the endpoint node identified using the local connection table, wherein the memory request is sent internally to the endpoint node if the endpoint node is located within the local processing element node, and is sent over the network interconnect to the endpoint node if the endpoint node is located within the remote processing element node.