Controlling data allocation to storage circuitry

    公开(公告)号:US12182427B2

    公开(公告)日:2024-12-31

    申请号:US17966071

    申请日:2022-10-14

    Applicant: Arm Limited

    Abstract: An apparatus is provided for controlling the operating mode of control circuitry, such that the control circuitry may change between two operating modes. In an allocation mode, data that is loaded in response to an instruction is allocated into storage circuitry from an intermediate buffer, and the data is read from the storage circuitry. In a non-allocation mode, the data is not allocated to the storage circuitry, and is read directly from intermediate buffer. The control of the operating mode may be performed by mode control circuitry, and the mode may be changed in dependence on the type of instruction that calls the data, and whether the data may be used again in the near future, or whether it is expected to be used only once.

    Prefetching techniques
    4.
    发明授权

    公开(公告)号:US10817426B2

    公开(公告)日:2020-10-27

    申请号:US16139160

    申请日:2018-09-24

    Applicant: Arm Limited

    Abstract: A variety of data processing apparatuses are provided in which stride determination circuitry determines a stride value as a difference between a current address and a previously received address. Stride storage circuitry stores an association between stride values determined by the stride determination circuitry and a frequency during a training period. Prefetch circuitry causes a further data value to be proactively retrieved from a further address. The further address is the current address modified by a stride value in the stride storage circuitry having a highest frequency during the training period. The variety of data processing apparatuses are directed towards improving efficiency by variously disregarding certain candidate stride values, considering additional further addresses for prefetching by using multiple stride values, using feedback to adjust the training process and compensating for page table boundaries.

    Apparatus and method for maintaining address translation data within an address translation cache

    公开(公告)号:US10372618B2

    公开(公告)日:2019-08-06

    申请号:US15293467

    申请日:2016-10-14

    Applicant: ARM LIMITED

    Abstract: An apparatus and method are provided for maintaining address translation data within an address translation cache. The address translation cache has a plurality of entries, where each entry is used to store address translation data used when converting a virtual address into a corresponding physical address of a memory system. Control circuitry is used to perform an allocation process to determine the address translation data to be stored in each entry. The address translation cache is used to store address translation data of a plurality of different types representing address translation data specified at respective different levels of address translation within a multiple-level page table walk. The plurality of different types comprises a final level type of address translation data that identifies a full translation from the virtual address to the physical address, and at least one intermediate level type of address translation data that identifies a partial translation of the virtual address. The control circuitry is arranged, when performing the allocation process, to apply an allocation policy that permits each of the entries to be used for any of the different types of address translation data, and to store type identification data in association with each entry to enable the type of the address translation data stored therein to be determined. Such an approach enables very efficient usage of the address translation cache resources, for example by allowing the proportion of the entries used for full address translation data and the proportion of the entries used for partial address translation data to be dynamically adapted to changing workload conditions.

    Merging memory ordering tracking information for issued load instructions

    公开(公告)号:US11194574B2

    公开(公告)日:2021-12-07

    申请号:US16521663

    申请日:2019-07-25

    Applicant: Arm Limited

    Abstract: An apparatus is described, comprising load issuing circuitry configured to issue load operations to load data from memory, and memory ordering tracking storage circuitry configured to store memory ordering tracking information on issued load operations. The apparatus also includes control circuitry configured to access the memory ordering tracking storage circuitry to determine, using the memory ordering tracking information, whether at least one load operation has been issued in disagreement with a memory ordering requirement, and, if so, to determine whether to re-issue one or more issued load operations or to continue issuing load operations despite disagreement with the memory ordering requirement. Furthermore, the control circuitry is capable of merging the memory ordering tracking information for a plurality of issued load operations into a merged entry in the memory ordering tracking storage circuitry.

    PREFETCHING TECHNIQUES
    7.
    发明申请

    公开(公告)号:US20200097409A1

    公开(公告)日:2020-03-26

    申请号:US16139160

    申请日:2018-09-24

    Applicant: Arm Limited

    Abstract: A variety of data processing apparatuses are provided in which stride determination circuitry determines a stride value as a difference between a current address and a previously received address. Stride storage circuitry stores an association between stride values determined by the stride determination circuitry and a frequency during a training period. Prefetch circuitry causes a further data value to be proactively retrieved from a further address. The further address is the current address modified by a stride value in the stride storage circuitry having a highest frequency during the training period. The variety of data processing apparatuses are directed towards improving efficiency by variously disregarding certain candidate stride values, considering additional further addresses for prefetching by using multiple stride values, using feedback to adjust the training process and compensating for page table boundaries.

    Queuing memory access requests
    8.
    发明授权

    公开(公告)号:US10229066B2

    公开(公告)日:2019-03-12

    申请号:US15281502

    申请日:2016-09-30

    Applicant: ARM LIMITED

    Abstract: A data processing apparatus is provided including queue circuitry to respond to control signals each associated with a memory access instruction, and to queue a plurality of requests for data, each associated with a reference to a storage location. Resolution circuitry acquires a request for data, and issues the request for data, the resolution circuitry having a resolution circuitry limit. When a current capacity of the resolution circuitry is below the resolution circuitry limit, the resolution circuitry acquires the request for data by receiving the request for data from the queue circuitry, stores the request for data in association with the storage location, issues the request for data, and causes a result of issuing the request for data to be provided to said storage location. When the current capacity of the resolution circuitry meets or exceeds the resolution circuitry limit, the resolution circuitry acquires the request for data by examining a next request for data in the queue circuitry and issues a further request for the data based on the request for data.

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