公开(公告)号：US11915002B2

公开(公告)日：2024-02-27

申请号：US17808916

申请日：2022-06-24

Applicant: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Inventor： Saransh Jain ,  Rami Mohammad Al Sheikh ,  Daren Eugene Streett ,  Michael Scott McIlvaine

IPC: G06F9/38

CPC classification number: G06F9/3806 ,  G06F9/3867

Abstract: Providing extended branch target buffer (BTB) entries for storing trunk branch metadata and leaf branch metadata is disclosed herein. In one aspect, a processor comprises a BTB circuit comprising a BTB comprising a plurality of extended BTB entries. The BTB circuit is configured to store trunk branch metadata for a first branch instruction in an extended BTB entry of the plurality of extended BTB entries, wherein the extended BTB entry corresponds to a first aligned memory block containing an address of the first branch instruction. The BTB circuit is also configured to store leaf branch metadata for a second branch instruction in the extended BTB entry in association with the trunk branch metadata, wherein an address of the second branch instruction is subsequent to a target address of the first branch instruction within a second aligned memory block.

公开(公告)号：US11928474B2

公开(公告)日：2024-03-12

申请号：US17832350

申请日：2022-06-03

Applicant: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Inventor： Rami Mohammad Al Sheikh ,  Saransh Jain ,  Michael Scott McIlvaine ,  Daren Eugene Streett

IPC: G06F9/38 ,  G06F9/32

CPC classification number: G06F9/3844 ,  G06F9/325 ,  G06F9/381

Abstract: Selectively updating branch predictors for loops executed from loop buffers is disclosed herein. In some aspects, a branch predictor update circuit of a processor is configured to detect a loop comprising a plurality of loop instructions in an instruction stream, and to determine that the loop is stored within a loop buffer circuit of the processor. The branch predictor update circuit is further configured to determine a count of potential history register updates to the history register for the plurality of loop instructions, and to determine whether the count of potential history register updates exceeds a size of the history register. The branch predictor update circuit is also configured to, responsive to determining that the count of potential history register updates does not exceed the size of the history register, update a branch predictor of the branch predictor circuit based on the plurality of loop instructions.