摘要:
Processor time accounting is enhanced by per-thread internal resource usage counter circuits that account for usage of processor core resources to the threads that use them. Relative resource use can be determined by detecting events such as instruction dispatches for multiple threads active within the processor, which may include idle threads that are still occupying processor resources. The values of the resource usage counters are used periodically to determine relative usage of the processor core by the multiple threads. If all of the events are for a single thread during a given period, the processor time is allocated to the single thread. If no events occur in the given period, then the processor time can be equally allocated among threads. If multiple threads are generating events, a fractional resource usage can be determined for each thread and the counters may be updated in accordance with their fractional usage.
摘要:
Processor time accounting is enhanced by per-thread internal resource usage counter circuits that account for usage of processor core resources to the threads that use them. Relative resource use can be determined by detecting events such as instruction dispatches for multiple threads active within the processor, which may include idle threads that are still occupying processor resources. The values of the resource usage counters are used periodically to determine relative usage of the processor core by the multiple threads. If all of the events are for a single thread during a given period, the processor time is allocated to the single thread. If no events occur in the given period, then the processor time can be equally allocated among threads. If multiple threads are generating events, a fractional resource usage can be determined for each thread and the counters may be updated in accordance with their fractional usage.
摘要:
Processor time accounting is enhanced by per-thread internal resource usage counter circuits that account for usage of processor core resources to the threads that use them. Relative resource use can be determined by detecting events such as instruction dispatches for multiple threads active within the processor, which may include idle threads that are still occupying processor resources. The values of the resource usage counters are used periodically to determine relative usage of the processor core by the multiple threads. If all of the events are for a single thread during a given period, the processor time is allocated to the single thread. If no events occur in the given period, then the processor time can be equally allocated among threads. If multiple threads are generating events, a fractional resource usage can be determined for each thread and the counters may be updated in accordance with their fractional usage.
摘要:
Processor time accounting is enhanced by per-thread internal resource usage counter circuits that account for usage of processor core resources to the threads that use them. Relative resource use can be determined by detecting events such as instruction dispatches for multiple threads active within the processor, which may include idle threads that are still occupying processor resources. The values of the resource usage counters are used periodically to determine relative usage of the processor core by the multiple threads. If all of the events are for a single thread during a given period, the processor time is allocated to the single thread. If no events occur in the given period, then the processor time can be equally allocated among threads. If multiple threads are generating events, a fractional resource usage can be determined for each thread and the counters may be updated in accordance with their fractional usage.
摘要:
An accounting method and multi-threaded processor include a mechanism for accounting for processor resource usage by threads within programs. Relative resource use is determined by detecting a particular cycle state of threads active within the processor. If instructions are dispatched for all threads or no threads, the processor cycle is accounted equally to all threads. Alternatively if no threads are in the particular cycle state, the accounting may be made using a prior state, or in conformity with ratios of the threads' priority levels. If only one thread is in the particular cycle state, that thread is accounted the entire processor cycle. If multiple threads are dispatching, but less than all threads are dispatching, the processor cycle is billed evenly across the dispatching threads.
摘要:
A method and logical apparatus for switching between single-threaded and multi-threaded execution states within a simultaneous multi-threaded (SMT) processor provides a mechanism for switching between single-threaded and multi-threaded execution. The processor receives an instruction specifying a transition from a single-threaded to a multi-threaded mode or vice-versa and halts execution of all threads executing on the processor. Internal control logic controls a sequence of events that ends instruction prefetching, dispatch of new instructions, interrupt processing and maintenance operations and waits for operation of the processor to complete for instructions that are in process. Then, the logic determines one or more threads to start in conformity with a thread enable state specifying the enable state of multiple threads and reallocates various resources, dividing them between threads if multiple threads are specified for further execution (multi-threaded mode) or allocating substantially all of the resources to a single thread if further execution is specified as single-threaded mode. The processor then starts execution of the remaining enabled threads.
摘要:
A microprocessor includes a functional block having dynamic power savings circuitry, a functional block control circuit, and a thermal control unit. The functional block control circuits are capable of altering performance characteristics of their associated functional blocks automatically upon detecting an over temperature condition. The thermal control unit receives an over-temperature signal indicating a processor temperature exceeding a threshold and invokes the one or more of the functional block control units in response to the signal. The functional block control units respond to signals from the thermal control unit by reducing processor activity, slowing processor performance, or both. The reduced activity that results causes the dynamic power saving circuitry to engage. The functional block control units can throttle performance by numerous means including reducing the exploitable parallelism within the processor, suspending out-of-order execution, reducing effective resource size, and the like.
摘要:
A microprocessor includes an externally accessible port and a serial communication bus connected to the port. An execution pipeline of the processor includes a pipeline satellite circuit coupling the pipeline to the bus. The satellite enables an external agent to provide an instruction directly to the pipeline via the serial bus. A dedicated register and register satellite circuit couple the register to the communication bus. The execution pipeline can access the dedicated register during execution of the instruction. In this manner, the satellite circuits enable the external agent to access architected state. The communication bus enables access to the satellites while a system clock to the processor remains active. In one embodiment, the pipeline satellite accesses the pipeline “downstream” of the decode stage such that the set of instructions that may be “rammed” into the pipeline is not limited to the set of instructions that the decode stage can generate.
摘要:
A trace array having M entries with corresponding M addresses is used to store the states of input signals. The M addresses of the trace array are sequenced with a counter that counts a clock beginning at a starting count and counting to an ending count. If the ending count is exceeded, the counter starts over at the starting count. The counter outputs are decoded to addresses of the trace array. An event signal is generated on the occurrence of an operation of interest and the counter is started and stopped in response to sequences of the event signals, thus starting and stopping the recording of states of the input signals in the trace array. When an error or particular condition signal occurs, traces corresponding to the input signals are saved in the trace array. A start signal enables tracing and event logic generates event sequence signals which alternately start and stop the recording of traces. The event sequences are programmed by inputs to enable guaranteed statistical chances of capturing states of the input signals corresponding to a particular event signal occurring before an error or another event signal.
摘要:
Monitoring is performed to detect a hang condition. A timer is set to detect a hang based on a core hang limit. If a thread hangs for the duration of the core hang limit, then a core hang is detected. If the thread is performing an external memory transaction, then the timer is increased to a longer memory hang limit. If the thread is waiting for a shared resource, then the timer may be increased to the longer memory hang limit if another thread or, more particularly, the thread blocking the resource has a pending memory transaction. Responsive to detecting a hang condition, instructions dispatched to the plurality of execution units may be flushed, or the processor may be reset and restored to a previously known good, checkpointed architected state.