Apparatus, method, and system for logging diagnostic information
First Claim
1. An apparatus for logging diagnostic information, the apparatus comprising:
- at least one software module configured to provide diagnostic information to a bus;
a plurality of buffers configured to store data;
a buffer management module configured to transfer diagnostic information from the bus to a selected buffer of the plurality of buffers;
the buffer management module further configured to transfer the diagnostic information from the selected buffer to a diagnostic log corresponding to the selected buffer; and
the buffer management module further configured to transfer the diagnostic information from the bus to a selected buffer memory device in response to a processor cache line flush.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A diagnostic tracing logger is presented for use in a multithread environment in which diagnostic trace log entries are captured and recorded. The trace logs are composed of sequences of memory addresses used to access instructions and operands, instruction op-codes and register specifiers, sequences of memory addresses, branch instructions or exceptions, the contents of registers or semiconductor memory locations, and the like. In one embodiment, a software module configures a plurality of buffers to capture bus traces, each trace triggered by a specific pattern. A buffer controller manages transfer of diagnostic trace information from the plurality of buffers to a diagnostic log without using processor memory cycles. The trace information is transferred to a selected buffer using a processor cache flush instruction. Diagnostic trace logging facilitates diagnosis of complex system and software interactions without the cost and overhead of prior art trace logging techniques.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. An apparatus for logging diagnostic information, the apparatus comprising:
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at least one software module configured to provide diagnostic information to a bus; a plurality of buffers configured to store data; a buffer management module configured to transfer diagnostic information from the bus to a selected buffer of the plurality of buffers; the buffer management module further configured to transfer the diagnostic information from the selected buffer to a diagnostic log corresponding to the selected buffer; and the buffer management module further configured to transfer the diagnostic information from the bus to a selected buffer memory device in response to a processor cache line flush. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A computer readable storage medium comprising computer readable program code for logging diagnostic information, the program code configured to conduct a method comprising:
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providing diagnostic information to a bus; administering a buffer management module, including; transferring diagnostic information from the bus to a selected buffer of a plurality of buffers configured to store data in response to a processor cache line flush; and transferring diagnostic information from a selected buffer to a diagnostic log corresponding to the selected buffer. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An apparatus for logging diagnostic information, the apparatus comprising:
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means for providing diagnostic information to a bus; means for transferring the diagnostic information from the bus to a selected buffer of a plurality of buffers means for transferring the diagnostic information from the selected buffer to a diagnostic log corresponding to the selected buffer; means for transferred diagnostic information from the bus in response to a processor cache line flush. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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21. A system for logging diagnostic information, the system comprising:
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at least one module configured to provide diagnostic information to a bus; a plurality of buffers configured to store data; a buffer management module configured to transfer diagnostic information from the bus to a selected buffer of the plurality of buffers; the buffer management module further configured to transfer the diagnostic information from the selected buffer to a diagnostic log corresponding to the selected buffer; and the buffer management module further configured to transfer the diagnostic information from the bus to a selected buffer memory device in response to a processor cache line flush. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method for logging diagnostic information, the method comprising:
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providing diagnostic information to a bus; transferring the diagnostic information from the bus to a selected buffer of a plurality of buffers in response to a processor cache line flush; and transferring the diagnostic information from the selected buffer to a diagnostic log corresponding to the selected buffer.
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27. A FIFO management module, comprising:
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a first transfer module configured to initiate a transfer of diagnostic information from a bus to a selected FIFO memory device in response to a processor cache line flush; and a second transfer module configured to initiate a transfer of the diagnostic information from the selected FIFO memory device to a diagnostic log corresponding to the selected FIFO memory device. - View Dependent Claims (28)
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Specification