Method and apparatus for disabling a clock signal within a multithreaded processor

• US 6,357,016 B1
• Filed: 12/09/1999
• Issued: 03/12/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Wood, Aimee, Toll, Bret, Rodgers, Dion
• Primary Examiner(s): BUTLER, DENNIS
• Application Number:
  US09/458,589
• Time in Patent Office: 824 Days
• Field of Search: 713/322, 713/500, 713/502, 713/600, 713/601, 709/100, 709/102, 709/107
• US Class Current: 713/601
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3237 by disabling clock generation or distribution
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3287 by switching off individual functional units in the computer system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/384 Register renaming
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/3851 from multiple instruction streams, e.g. multistreaming
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/50 in wire-line communication networks, e.g. low power modes or reduced link rate

Abstract

A method includes maintaining an indication of a pending event with respect to each of a number of threads supported within a multithreaded processor. An indication is also maintained of an active or inactive state for each of the multiple threads. A clock disable condition is detected. This clock disable condition may be indicated by the absence of pending events with respect to each of the multiple threads and an inactive state for each of the multiple threads. A clocks signal, if enabled, is then disabled with respect to at least one functional unit within the multithreaded processor responsive to the detection of the clock disable condition.

Claims

1. A method including:

maintaining an indication of a pending event with respect to each of multiple threads supported within a multithreaded processor;

maintaining an indication of an active or inactive state for each of the multiple threads supported within the multithreaded processor;

detecting a clock disable condition indicated by the indication of no pending events with respect to each of the multiple threads and an inactive state for each of the multiple threads; and

disabling a clock signal, if enabled, with respect to at least one functional unit within the multithreaded processor responsive to the detection of the clock disable condition.

2. The method of claim 1 including detecting a clock enable condition indicated by the indication of a pending event with respect to at least one thread of the multiple threads supported within the multithreaded processor or by the indication of an active state for at least one thread of the multiple threads supported within the multithreaded processor, and enabling the clock signal, if disabled, with respect to the at least one functional unit within the multithreaded processor responsive to the detection of the clock enable condition.

3. The method of claim 2 including maintaining an event inhibit indication for at least a first thread of the multiple threads supported by the multithreaded processor, the event inhibit indication identifying at least one event with respect to the first thread that does not constitute an event that triggers a transition of the first thread between the inactive and active states.

4. The method of claim 5 wherein the detection of the clock disable condition and the clock enable condition is subject to the event inhibit indication with respect to the first thread, and the clock disable condition being detected or a clock enable condition not being detected if a pending event is indicated to be inhibited by the event inhibit indication for the first thread.

5. The method of claim 1 including the providing an indication of a bus access operation, and detecting the clock disable condition only in the absence of an indication of a bus access operation.

6. The method of claim 3 wherein the bus access operation comprises a snoop operation, and wherein the indication of the bus access operation is provided when the bus access operation is active for a predetermined snoop duration.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the maintenance of the indication of thread activity with respect to each of the multiple threads comprises maintaining an active thread state machine that outputs a signal for each of the multiple threads supported to indicate whether a respective thread is in the active or inactive state.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the disabling of the clock signal with respect to the at least one functional unit comprises gating the clock signal.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the disabling of the clock signal with respect to the least one functional unit comprises disabling propagation of a processor clock signal on a processor clock spine.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the disabling the clock signal with respect to the least one functional unit comprises disabling a phase locked loop that generates a processor clock signal.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the disabling of the clock signal comprises maintaining the supply of a clock signal to the bus pins of the multithreaded processor so as to enable the detection of a bus access operation or event when the clock signal is disabled.

12. Apparatus comprising:

a pending event indicator that maintains an indication of a pending event with respect to each of multiple threads supported within a multithreaded processor;

an active thread indicator that maintains an indication of an active or inactive state for each of the multiple threads supported within the multithreaded processor; and

clock control logic to detect a clock disable condition indicated by the indication of no pending events with respect to each of the multiple threads and an inactive state with respect to each of the multiple threads, and to disable a clock signal with respect to at least one functional unit within the multithreaded processor responsive to the detection of the clock disable condition.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the clock control logic detects a clock enable condition indicated by the indication of a pending event with respect to at least one thread of the multiple threads supported within the multithreaded processor, and enables the clock signal, if disabled, with respect to the at least one functional unit within the multithreaded processor responsive to the detection of the clock enable condition.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 including an event inhibit indicator maintaining an event inhibit indication for at least a first thread of the multiple threads supported by the multithreaded processor, the event inhibit indication identifying at least one event with respect to the first thread that does not constitute an event that triggers a transition of the first thread between the inactive and active states.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the clock control logic detects the clock disable condition and the clock enable condition subject to the event inhibit indication with respect to the first thread, the clock disable condition being detected or a clock enable condition not being detected by the clock control logic if a pending event is indicated to be inhibited by the event inhibit indication for the first thread.

16. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the clock control logic detects a clock enable condition indicated by the indication of an active state for at least one thread of the multiple threads supported within the multithreaded processor, and enables the clock signal, if disabled, with respect to the at least one functional unit within the multithreaded processor responsive to the detection of the clock enable condition.

17. The apparatus of claim 12 including bus snoop logic that provides an indication of a bus access operation, and wherein the clock control logic detects the clock disable condition only in the absence of an indication of a bus access operation from the bus snoop logic.

18. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the bus access operation comprises a snoop operation, and wherein the bus snoop logic provides the indication of the bus access operation when the bus access operation is active for a predetermined snoop duration.

19. The apparatus of claim 12 including an active thread state machine that outputs a signal for each of the multiple threads supported to indicate whether a respective thread is in the active state or the inactive state.

20. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the clock control logic disables the clock signal with respect to the at least one functional unit by gating the clock signal.

21. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the clock control logic disables the clock signal with respect to the least one functional unit by disabling propagation of a processor clock signal on a processor clock spine.

22. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the clock control logic disables the clock signal with respect to the least one functional unit by disabling a phase locked loop that generates a processor clock signal.

23. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the clock control logic disables the clock signal with respect to the at least one functional unit but maintains the supply of a clock signal to the bus pins of the multithreaded processor so as to enable the detection of a bus access operation or event when the clock signal is disabled.

24. Apparatus comprising:

first means for maintaining an indication of a pending event with respect to each of multiple threads supported within a multithreaded processor;

second means for maintaining an indication of an active or inactive state for each of the multiple threads supported within the multithreaded processor; and

third means for detecting a clock disable condition indicated by the indication of no pending events with respect to each of the multiple threads and an inactive state with respect to each of the multiple threads, and for disabling a clock signal with respect to at least one functional unit within the multithreaded processor responsive to the detection of the clock disable condition.

25. A machine-readable medium including a sequence of instructions that when executed by a machine, cause the machine to:

maintain an indication of a pending event with respect to each of multiple threads supported within a multithreaded processor;

maintain an indication of an active or inactive state for each of the multiple threads supported within the multithreaded processor;

detect a clock disable condition indicated by the indication of no pending events with respect to each of the multiple threads and an inactive state for each of the multiple threads; and

disable a clock signal, if enabled, with respect to at least one functional unit within the multithreaded processor responsive to the detection of the clock disable condition.