Loosely-coupled, synchronized execution
First Claim
1. A method of maintaining synchronized execution by compute elements processing instruction streams in a computer system including the compute elements and a controller, wherein each compute element comprises a clock that operates asynchronously of clocks of the other compute elements, said method comprising at each compute element:
- processing instructions from an instruction stream;
counting instructions processed from the instruction stream;
initiating a synchronization procedure upon processing a quantum of instructions from the instruction stream;
after initiating the synchronization procedure, continuing to process instructions from the instruction stream and to count instructions processed from the instruction stream;
halting processing of instructions from the instruction stream after processing an unspecified number of instructions from the instruction stream in addition to the quantum of instructions;
upon halting processing, sending a synchronization request to the controller; and
waiting for a synchronization reply from the controller.
11 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Synchronized execution is maintained by compute elements processing instruction streams in a computer system including the compute elements and a controller. Each compute element includes a clock that operates asynchronously with respect to clocks of the other compute elements. Each compute element processes instructions from an instruction stream and counts the instructions processed. Upon processing a quantum of instructions from the instruction stream, the compute element initiates a synchronization procedure and continues to process instructions from the instruction stream and to count instructions processed from the instruction stream. The compute element halts processing of instructions from the instruction stream after processing an unspecified number of instructions from the instruction stream in addition to the quantum of instructions. Upon halting processing, the compute element sends a synchronization request to the controller and waits for a synchronization reply.
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Citations
47 Claims
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1. A method of maintaining synchronized execution by compute elements processing instruction streams in a computer system including the compute elements and a controller, wherein each compute element comprises a clock that operates asynchronously of clocks of the other compute elements, said method comprising at each compute element:
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processing instructions from an instruction stream; counting instructions processed from the instruction stream; initiating a synchronization procedure upon processing a quantum of instructions from the instruction stream; after initiating the synchronization procedure, continuing to process instructions from the instruction stream and to count instructions processed from the instruction stream; halting processing of instructions from the instruction stream after processing an unspecified number of instructions from the instruction stream in addition to the quantum of instructions; upon halting processing, sending a synchronization request to the controller; and waiting for a synchronization reply from the controller. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A computer system including compute elements configured to process instruction streams and a controller, wherein;
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the compute elements and the controller are configured to maintain synchronized execution by the compute elements; each compute element comprises a clock that operates asynchronously of clocks of the other compute elements; and
each compute element is configured to;process instructions from an instruction stream; count instructions processed from the instruction stream; initiate a synchronization procedure upon processing a quantum of instructions from the instruction stream; continue to process instructions from the instruction stream and to count instructions processed from the instruction stream after initiating the synchronization procedure; halt processing of instructions from the instruction stream after processing an unspecified number of instructions from the instruction stream in addition to the quantum of instructions; send a synchronization request to the controller upon halting processing; and wait for a synchronization reply from the controller. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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Specification