Multiprocessor system having multi-command set operation and priority command operation

A multiprocessor system comprising:

• a multi-port semiconductor memory device comprising dedicated memory areas and a shared memory area accessible through a plurality of ports, first and second mailbox areas configured to facilitate inter-processor communication, and a semaphore area configured to store information for controlling access to the shared memory area;
• a first processor connected to a first port of the multi-port semiconductor memory device and configured to access a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device through the multi-port semiconductor memory device, to write a multi-command set or an instant command to a command area of the shared memory area, and to write a multi-command write message or an instant operation message to the second mailbox area;
• and
• a second processor connected to a second port of the multi-port semiconductor memory device and to the nonvolatile semiconductor memory device to form a memory link architecture, and configured to read the multi-command set from the second mailbox area, to sequentially perform multiple read/write operations according to the multi-command set, and to perform an instant operation according to the instant command between two of the multiple read/write operations,
• wherein the nonvolatile semiconductor memory device is configured to store data from the first and second processors.

A method of operating a multiprocessor system comprising first and second processors, a multi-port semiconductor memory device connected to the first and second processors and comprising a shared memory area comprising a mailbox area and a command area, and a nonvolatile memory device connected to the second processor, the method comprising:

• transmitting a multi-command set comprising multiple read/write commands from the first processor to the command area of shared memory area in the multi-port semiconductor memory device;
• storing message data in the mailbox area to indicate the presence of the multi-command set in the command area;
• detecting the message data in the mailbox area;
• and
• as a consequence of detecting the message data in the mailbox area, accessing the multi-command set in the command area and operating the second processor to execute multiple read/write operations corresponding to the multiple read/write commands.