- In SMP mode, a single operating system (OS) runs on all processors, which access a single image of the OS in the memory. The OS is responsible for extracting parallelism in the application. It dynamically partitions tasks across the processors, manages the ordering of task completion, and controls the sharing of all resources between the cores.
- In AMP mode, the processor cores in the device are largely unaware of each other. Separate OS images exist in main memory, though there may be a shared location for interprocessor communications. AMP may take the form of multiple instances of the same non-SMP-aware OS.
use/ application
A symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) system is one in which each processor runs an identical copy of the operating system on each processor. In an asymmetric multiprocessing, system, each processor is assigned a specific tasks. An example of this would be a master- slave relationship between one processor and “the rest”.
Symmetric encryption requires one key available to both parties. Asymmetric encryption uses two keys, one encryption key available publicly and one decryption key available only to the recipient.
Asymmetric is the opposite of symmetric
Symmetric means the same each side, assymetric is different each side.
Symmetric cryptography uses the same secret (private) key to encrypt and decrypt its data whereas asymmetric uses both a public and private key. Symmetric requires that the secret key be known by the party encrypting the data and the party decrypting the data. Asymmetric allows for distribution of your public key to anyone with which they can encrypt the data they want to send securely and then it can only be decoded by the person having the private key. This eliminates the need of having to give someone the secret key (as with symmetric encryption) and risk having it compromised. The issue with asymmetric is that it is about 1000 times slower than symmetric encryption which makes it impractical when trying to encrypt large amounts of data. Also to get the same security strength as symmetric, asymmetric must use strong a stronger key than symmetric. If you do a quick search on the differences between symmetric and asymmetric you can find many more explanations. This just a quick overview.
Symmetric means that the design of the image is balanced and both sides are equal. An asymmetric image is when the design does not repeat itself so if you fold it in half the designs will not meet in the same areas.
From another user: Symmetric cryptography uses the same secret (private) key to encrypt and decrypt its data whereas asymmetric uses both a public and private key. Symmetric requires that the secret key be known by the party encrypting the data and the party decrypting the data. Asymmetric allows for distribution of your public key to anyone with which they can encrypt the data they want to send securely and then it can only be decoded by the person having the private key. This eliminates the need of having to give someone the secret key (as with symmetric encryption) and risk having it compromised. The issue with asymmetric is that it is about 1000 times slower than symmetric encryption which makes it impractical when trying to encrypt large amounts of data. Also to get the same security strength as symmetric, asymmetric must use strong a stronger key than symmetric.
Asymmetric multiprocessing - In asymmetric multiprocessing (ASMP), the operating system typically sets aside one or more processors for its exclusive use. The remainder of the processors run user applications. As a result, the single processor running the operating system can fall behind the processors running user applications. This forces the applications to wait while the operating system catches up, which reduces the overall throughput of the system. In the ASMP model, if the processor that fails is an operating system processor, the whole computer can go down. Symmetric mMultiprocessing - Symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) technology is used to get higher levels of performance. In symmetric multiprocessing, any processor can run any type of thread. The processors communicate with each other through shared memory. SMP systems provide better load-balancing and fault tolerance. Because the operating system threads can run on any processor, the chance of hitting a CPU bottleneck is greatly reduced. All processors are allowed to run a mixture of application and operating system code. A processor failure in the SMP model only reduces the computing capacity of the system. SMP systems are inherently more complex than ASMP systems. A tremendous amount of coordination must take place within the operating system to keep everything synchronized. For this reason, SMP systems are usually designed and written from the ground up.
What is the difference between parallel processing and multiprocessing?
Asymmetric multiprocessing - In asymmetric multiprocessing (ASMP), the operating system typically sets aside one or more processors for its exclusive use. The remainder of the processors run user applications. As a result, the single processor running the operating system can fall behind the processors running user applications. This forces the applications to wait while the operating system catches up, which reduces the overall throughput of the system. In the ASMP model, if the processor that fails is an operating system processor, the whole computer can go down. Symmetric mMultiprocessing - Symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) technology is used to get higher levels of performance. In symmetric multiprocessing, any processor can run any type of thread. The processors communicate with each other through shared memory. SMP systems provide better load-balancing and fault tolerance. Because the operating system threads can run on any processor, the chance of hitting a CPU bottleneck is greatly reduced. All processors are allowed to run a mixture of application and operating system code. A processor failure in the SMP model only reduces the computing capacity of the system. SMP systems are inherently more complex than ASMP systems. A tremendous amount of coordination must take place within the operating system to keep everything synchronized. For this reason, SMP systems are usually designed and written from the ground up
Windows 2000 Advanced Server adds advanced symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) support, clustering, and load-balancing to the other technologies in Windows 2000 Server, so you can run more demanding e-commerce and line-of-business applications."