Processor specific dispatching in a heterogeneous configuration

A computer readable medium carrying instructions for an operating system, wherein the instructions, when executed in a computer system, cause the computer system to perform the operations of:

• receiving a first set of parametric information pertaining to a first physical processing module (PPM), the first PPM having a first architecture;
• constructing a first abstraction of the first PPM based, at least partially, upon the first set of parametric information, the first abstraction comprising an indication of how many logical processing entities are provided by the first PPM, the first abstraction further comprising operational information indicating one or more operational characteristics of the first PPM;
• determining that a second abstraction for a second PPM does not exist, the second PPM having a second architecture, wherein the first architecture is different from the second architecture;
• receiving a second set of parametric information pertaining to the second PPM;
• constructing a second abstraction of the second PPM based, at least partially, upon the second set of parametric information, the second abstraction comprising an indication of how many logical processing entities are provided by the second PPM, the second abstraction further comprising operational information indicating one or more operational characteristics of the second PPM, wherein the second abstraction is different from the first abstraction to reflect at least one difference between the first architecture of the first PPM and the second architecture of the second PPM;
• and
• dispatching, based on the at least one difference between the first architecture of the first PPM and the second architecture of the second PPM and the operational information in the first abstraction, an execution thread for execution to one of the logical processing entities of the first PPM.

A computer system comprising:

• a first physical processing module (PPM) having a first architecture;
• an operating system executing within the computer system, wherein the operating system performs the operations of:
• receiving a first set of parametric information pertaining to the first PPM;
• constructing a first abstraction of the first PPM based, at least partially, upon the first set of parametric information, the first abstraction comprising an indication of how many logical processing entities are provided by the first PPM, the first abstraction further comprising operational information indicating one or more operational characteristics of the first PPM;
• determining that a second abstraction for a second PPM does not exist, the second PPM having a second architecture wherein the first architecture is different from the second architecture;
• receiving a second set of parametric information pertaining to the second PPM;
• constructing a second abstraction of the second PPM based, at least partially, upon the second set of parametric information, the second abstraction comprising an indication of how many logical processing entities are provided by the second PPM, the second abstraction further comprising operational information indicating one or more operational characteristics of the second PPM, wherein the second abstraction is different from the first abstraction to reflect the differences between the first architecture of the first PPM and the second architecture of the second PPM;
• and
• dispatching, based on the at least one difference between the first architecture of the first PPM and the second architecture of the second PPM and the operational information in the first abstraction, an execution thread for execution to one of the logical processing entities of the first PPM.