US Patent 11176081 Parallel, distributed processing in a heterogeneous, distributed environment

Various embodiments include systems and methods of operating the systems that include operation of a plurality of first nodes and second nodes in response to a request, where each first node is a first type of processing unit and each second node is a second type of processing unit, where the second type of processing node is different from the first type of processing node. Each of the first and second nodes can be operable in parallel with the other nodes of their respective plurality. Each second node may be operable to respond to the request using data and/or metadata it holds and/or operable in response to data and/or metadata from one or more of the first nodes. Additional apparatus, systems, and methods are disclosed.