Multi-Processing

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What Does Multi-Processing Mean?

Multi-processing refers to the ability of a system to support more than one processor at the same time. Applications in a multi-processing system are broken to smaller routines that run independently. The operating system allocates these threads to the processors improving performance of the system.

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Techopedia Explains Multi-Processing

In a symmetric multi-processing, a single OS instance controls two or more identical processors connected to a single shared main memory. Most of the multi-processing PC motherboards utilize symmetric multiprocessing.

On the other hand, asymmetric multi-processing designates system tasks to be performed by some processors and applications on others. This is generally not as efficient as symmetric processing due to the fact that under certain conditions a single processor might be completely engaged while the other is idle.

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Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert

Margaret is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.