Parallel Algorithms and Applications, Vol. I (1993), pp. 191-209.

Ömer Egecioglu and Ashok Srinivasan

Optimal Parallel Prefix on Mesh Architectures

Abstract. Algorithms for efficient implementation of computation of prefix products on mesh-connected processor arrays are presented. Assuming that an arithmetic operation takes unit time and communication/computation ratio for a single input item is $\tau$, we show that the prefixes of $n$ items can be computed in time $2\tau\sqrt{n} + O(\log n)$ on a square mesh with $n$ processors. If $n$ processors are configured as a disc with respect to the Manhattan metric, then the parallel time for the problem becomes $\sqrt{2}\tau \sqrt{n} + O(\sqrt{\tau}\sqrt[4]{n})$. We show that both of these algorithms are asymptotically optimal.

omer@cs.ucsb.edu