Composing on-chip interconnects with configurable interfaces

• US 7,356,633 B2
• Filed: 05/03/2002
• Issued: 04/08/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: META Platforms Technologies LLC (Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.))
• Original Assignee: Sonics Incorporated (Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.))
• Inventors: Tomlinson, Jay Scott, Meyer, Michael Jude, Masri, Nabil N., O'Connell, Thomas Wayne, Weber, Wolf-Dietrich, Chou, Chien-Chun, Synek, Kamil, Wingard, Drew Eric
• Primary Examiner(s): AUVE, GLENN ALLEN
• Application Number:
  US10/138,946
• Publication Number:
  US 20030208566A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,167 Days
• Field of Search: 710/62, 710/65, 710/306, 370/401, 712/35
• US Class Current: 710/306
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/7825 Globally asynchronous, locally synchronous, e.g. network on chip
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/18 Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols

Abstract

Embodiments of apparatuses, systems, and methods are described for composing on-chip interconnects with configurable interfaces. A configurable interface includes a configurable agent and interface port. The configurable agent has a first input and a first output with the first input receiving a first communication. An input of a core receives the configurable agent'"'"'s first output. The agent is configured for important inter-network characteristics such as topology, flooding control, clocking/reset, and performance enhancement.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

an agent having a first input and a first output, the first input coupled to receive a first communication from a core, wherein the agent is configured for topology and flooding control by a parameter selected from the group consisting of;

bridge agent, bridge forward, and fully connected.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the agent is configured at a point in time selected from the group consisting of:

at time of fabrication of the agent, at a power up, at a reset, at an initialization prior to normal operation for the agent, and dynamically during normal operation for the agent.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a configurable interface port having a first connection port and a second connection port, the first connection port coupled to receive an interconnect communication, and the second connection port coupled to transmit the first communication.

4. An apparatus comprising:

an agent having a first input and a first output, the first input coupled to receive a first communication from a core, wherein the agent is configured for clocking and reset by a parameter selected from the group consisting of;

clock rate, and reset into bridge X.

5. An apparatus comprising:

a configurable interface having a first communication port and a second communication port, the first communication port coupled to receive an interconnect communication; and

an agent having a first input and a first output, the first input coupled to the configurable interface second communication port, wherein the agent is configured for inter-network performance enhancement by a parameter selected from the group consisting of;

performance enhance on/off, phase to phase delay, maximum request to data delay, minimum request to response delay, and maximum outstanding requests, wherein the first output to couple to a core.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 further comprising:

the core having an output, and

the agent having a second input and a second output, the second input coupled to receive the core output, and the second output coupled to transmit to the configurable interface second communication port.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the interface is configured at a point in time selected from the group consisting of at time of:

fabrication of the interface, at a power up, at a reset, at an initialization prior to normal operation for the interface, and dynamically during normal operation for the interface.

8. An apparatus comprising:

means for interconnecting one or more configurable agents;

means for interfacing one or more of the configurable agents to one or more configurable interfaces;

means for interfacing one or more of the configurable interfaces to one or more cores;

means for configuring one or more of the configurable agents, wherein at least one configurable agent is configured for topology and flooding control by a parameter selected from the group consisting of;

bridge agent, bridge forward, and fully connected; and

means for configuring one or more of the configurable interfaces.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein means for configuring one or more of the configurable agents further comprises parameters selected from the group consisting of:

address width, data width, command width, communication timing, receive only, transmit only, bidirectional, bridge, bridge agent, bridge proxy, internetworking proxy, reset, timer, administrator, bridge agent, bridge forward, fully connected, clock rate, reset into bridge X, performance enhance on/off, phase to phase delay, maximum request to data delay, minimum request to response delay, and maximum outstanding requests.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein means for configuring one or more of the configurable agents further comprises means for configuring at a point in time selected from the group consisting of:

at time of fabrication, at a power up, at a reset, at an initialization prior to normal operation, and dynamically during normal operation.

11. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein means for configuring one or more of the configurable interfaces further comprises parameters selected from the group consisting of:

address width, data width, command width, communication timing, receive only, transmit only, bidirectional, bridge, bridge agent, bridge proxy, internetworking proxy, reset, timer, administrator, bridge agent, bridge forward, fully connected, clock rate, reset into bridge X, performance enhance on/off, phase to phase delay, maximum request to data delay, minimum request to response delay, and maximum outstanding requests.

12. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein means for configuring one or more of the configurable interfaces further comprises means for configuring at a point in time selected from the group consisting of:

at time of fabrication, at a power up, at a reset, at an initialization prior to normal operation, and dynamically during normal operation.

13. A system comprising:

a plurality of configurable agents coupled to

a plurality of configurable interfaces; and

a processor for configuring the configurable agents and the configurable interfaces, wherein the configurable agents are configured for inter-network performance enhancement by a parameter selected from the group consisting of performance enhance on/off, phase to phase delay, maximum request to data delay, minimum request to response delay, and maximum outstanding requests.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein configuring the configurable agents and the configurable interfaces is configuring the configurable agents and the configurable interfaces to communicate.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein configuring is configuring parameters selected from the group consisting of:

address width, data width, command width, communication timing, receive only, transmit only, bidirectional, bridge, bridge agent, bridge proxy, internetworking proxy, reset, timer, administrator, bridge agent, bridge forward, fully connected, clock rate, reset into bridge X, performance enhance on/off, phase to phase delay, maximum request to data delay, minimum request to response delay, and maximum outstanding requests.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein configuring further comprises configuring at a point in time selected from the group consisting of:

at time of fabrication, at a power up, at a reset, at an initialization prior to normal operation, and dynamically during normal operation.

17. The system of claim 13 further comprising circuitry, which when operating, performs the following:

receives an input communications;

adjusts the input communications based upon a target'"'"'s communications capabilities; and

transmits the adjusted input communications to the target.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein the circuitry to receive information selected from the group consisting of:

address width, data width, command width, communication timing, receive only, transmit only, bidirectional, bridge, bridge agent, bridge proxy, internetworking proxy, reset, timer, administrator, bridge agent, bridge forward, fully connected, clock rate, reset into bridge X, performance enhance on/off, phase to phase delay, maximum request to data delay, minimum request to response delay, and maximum outstanding requests.

19. An apparatus comprising:

a first bridge agent;

a second bridge agent;

a configurable interface port coupled to the first bridge agent and the second bridge agent; and

a configurable interface port parameter RIAB (reset into a bridge) which when ON in the configurable interface port informs a receiving bridge that a reset signal exists, which when asserted informs the receiving bridge that an originating bridge is in reset mode.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the coupling of the first bridge agent to the second bridge agent allows for communication through the configurable interface port between the first bridge agent and the second bridge agent.

21. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the interface port is configured at a point in time selected from the group consisting of:

at time of fabrication of the interface port, at a power up, at a reset, at an initialization prior to normal operation for the interface port, and dynamically during normal operation for the interface port.

22. An apparatus comprising:

a bridge agent having a first control input, a second control input, a first control output, a second control output, a first communication port, and a second communication port;

a first interconnect having a first control output, a first control input, and a communication port, the first control input coupled to receive the bridge agent first control output, the first control output coupled to transmit to the bridge agent first control input, and the communication port coupled to the bridge agent first communication port; and

a second interconnect having a first control output, a first control input, and a communication port, the first control input coupled to receive the bridge agent second control output, the first control output coupled to transmit to the bridge agent second control input, and the communication port coupled to the bridge agent second communication port.

23. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein the bridge control signals configure the bridge agent to control transmission of a communication between the first interconnect communication port and the second interconnect communication port.

24. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein the configuring of the bridge agent is a mode of operation selected from the group consisting of:

do not forward the communication from the first interconnect communication port to the second interconnect communication port, do not forward the communication from the second interconnect communication port to the first interconnect communication port, do not forward the communication, forward the communication from the first interconnect communication port to the second interconnect communication port, forward the communication from the second interconnect communication port to the first interconnect communication port, and forward the communication.

25. The apparatus of claim 24 wherein the bridge agent is configured at a point in time selected from the group consisting of:

at time of fabrication of the bridge agent, at a power up, at a reset, at an initialization prior to normal operation for the bridge agent, and dynamically during normal operation for the bridge agent.

26. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein the second interconnect is a second bridge agent.

27. An apparatus comprising:

means for interconnecting a bridge agent to one or more interconnects; and

means for configuring the bridge agent for communicating between the one or more interconnects, wherein the bridge agent is configured for clocking and reset by a parameter selected from the group consisting of;

clock rate, and reset into bridge X.

28. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein the bridge agent configuration is selected from a mode of operation selected from the group consisting of:

do not forward a communication from a first interconnect to a second interconnect, do not forward a communication from a second interconnect to a first interconnect, do not forward a communication, forward a communication from a first interconnect to a second interconnect, forward a communication from a second interconnect to a first interconnect, and forward a communication.

29. The apparatus of claim 28 wherein the bridge agent is configured at a point in time selected from the group consisting of:

at time of fabrication of the bridge agent, at a power up, at a reset, at an initialization prior to normal operation for the bridge agent, and dynamically during normal operation for the bridge agent.

30. A method comprising:

creating a first link between a first interconnect and a bridge agent;

creating a second link between a second interconnect and the bridge agent; and

configuring the bridge agent to communicate between the first link and the second link, wherein the bridge agent is further configured for topology and flooding control by a parameter selected from the group consisting of;

bridge agent, bridge forward, and fully connected.

31. The method of claim 30 wherein configuring further comprises setting parameters selected from a source selected from the group consisting of:

the first link, the second link, and a third source.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein configuring further comprises configuring at a point in time selected from the group consisting of:

at time of fabrication of the bridge agent, at a power up of the bridge agent, at a reset of the bridge agent, at an initialization prior to normal operation of the bridge agent, and dynamically during normal operation of the bridge agent.

33. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon instructions, which, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform the method of claim 30.

34. The method of claim 30 further comprising:

receiving a request;

determining if the request is from an external bridge agent that resides on a neighboring interconnect; and

if so, then

not looping back to the sender; and

sending the request to an internal agent that resides on a same interconnect;

if not, then

determining if the request is from a non-bridge agent that resides on a same interconnect; and

if so, then

forwarding the request to a connected external bridge agent that resides on a neighboring interconnect;

if not, then

determining if a bridge forward parameter is set to no; and

 

if so, then

 

doing nothing;

 

if not, then

 

forwarding the request to a connected external bridge agent that resides on a neighboring interconnect.

35. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon instructions, which, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform the method of claim 34.

36. The method of claim 30 further comprising:

creating a third link between a first agent connected to the first interconnect and a second agent connected to the second interconnect;

querying by the first agent as to the second agent'"'"'s communication capabilities;

querying by the second agent as to the first agent'"'"'s communication capabilities; and

configuring the first agent and the second agent to communicate.

37. The method of claim 36 wherein configuring further comprises setting parameters selected from the group consisting of address width, data width, command width, communication timing, receive only, transmit only, bidirectional, bridge, bridge agent, bridge proxy, internetworking proxy, reset, timer, administrator, bridge agent, bridge forward, fully connected, clock rate, reset into bridge X, performance enhance on/off, phase to phase delay, maximum request to data delay, minimum request to response delay, and maximum outstanding requests.

38. The method of claim 37 wherein configuring further comprises configuring at a point in time selected from the group consisting of at time of fabrication of an agent, at a power up of an agent, at a reset of an agent, at an initialization prior to normal operation of an agent, and dynamically during normal operation of an agent.

39. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon instructions, which, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform the method of claim 36.

40. A processing system, comprising:

a processor,to execute software instructions from a plurality of software structures, including;

a first software structure with code to create a first link between a first interconnect and a bridge agent;

a second software structure with code to create a second link between a second interconnect and the bridge agent; and

a third software structure with code to configure the bridge agent to communicate between the first link and the second link, wherein the bridge agent is further configured for topology and flooding control by a parameter selected from the group consisting of;

bridge agent, bridge forward, and fully connected.

41. A processing system, comprising:

a processor to execute software instructions from a plurality of software structures, including;

a first software structure with code to create a first link between a first interconnect and a bridge agent;

a second software structure with code to create a second link between a second interconnect and the bridge agent;

a third software structure with code to configure the bridge agent to communicate between the first link and the second link, wherein the bridge agent is further configured for topology and flooding control by a parameter selected from the group consisting of;

bridge agent, bridge forward, and fully connected, wherein the third software structure having an input to receive a request, and

the third software structure having code to determine whether the request is from an external bridge agent that resides on a neighboring interconnect, wherein

if so, then

not looping back to the sender; and

sending the request to an internal agent that resides on a same interconnect;

if not, then

determining if the request is from a non-bridge agent that resides on a same interconnect; and

if so, then

forwarding the request to a connected external bridge agent that resides on a neighboring interconnect;

if not, then

determining if a bridge forward parameter is set to no; and

 

if so, then

 

doing nothing;

 

not then

 

forwarding the request to a connected external bridge agent that resides on a neighboring interconnect.

42. A processing system, comprising:

a processor to execute software instructions from a plurality of software structures, including;

a first software structure with code to create a first link between a first interconnect and a bridge agent;

a second software structure with code to create a second link between a second interconnect and the bridge agent;

a third software structure with code to configure the bridge agent to communicate between the first link and the second link, wherein the bridge agent is further configured for topology and flooding control by a parameter selected from the group consisting of;

bridge agent, bridge forward, and fully connected;

a fourth software structure with code to create a third link between a first agent connected to the first interconnect and a second agent connected to the second interconnect;

a fifth software structure with code to cause the first agent to query as to the second agent'"'"'s communication capabilities;

a sixth software structure with code to cause the second agent to query as to the first agent'"'"'s communication capabilities; and

a seventh software structure with code to configure the first agent and the second agent to communicate.