Parallel computer families (examples): Cedar, BBN Butterfly, Cosmic Cube, and Hypercube machines are best classified under which Flynn category?

Introduction / Context:
Learning to classify famous parallel machines helps build intuition about how programs execute on different architectures. The Cedar, BBN Butterfly, Cosmic Cube, and Hypercube systems are classic exemplars frequently cited in parallel-computing courses and texts.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The listed machines use multiple processors that can execute independent instruction streams.
• We map them to one of SISD, SIMD, MISD, or MIMD.
• We focus on their dominant architectural model.

Concept / Approach:
MIMD (Multiple Instruction, Multiple Data) machines contain multiple autonomous processors, each with its own control unit and instruction stream. Systems like the BBN Butterfly and Intel's hypercube-connected machines are prototypical MIMD multiprocessors/multicomputers, executing different threads on different processors concurrently.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Identify independent control: each node executes its own instructions.Note interconnection topologies (butterfly, hypercube) that enable scalable communication among nodes.Map this to MIMD rather than SIMD or SISD.Select “MIMD.”

Verification / Alternative check:
Standard references list Cedar and BBN Butterfly as shared-memory or message-passing MIMD machines. Hypercube-based systems like the Cosmic Cube are also canonical MIMD multicomputers.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
SISD: single processor; not applicable.

SIMD: single instruction broadcast; not the model here.

MISD: rarely used; does not describe these examples.

None of the above: unnecessary; MIMD fits precisely.

Common Pitfalls:
Confusing interconnection topology (e.g., hypercube) with instruction/data stream classification. The topology is orthogonal to the MIMD nature of independent instruction streams.

Final Answer:
MIMD