Method and apparatus for providing notification via multiple completion queue handlers

• US 7,404,190 B2
• Filed: 09/18/2003
• Issued: 07/22/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Krause, Michael R., Hilland, Jeffrey R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee; Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): WU, QING YUAN
• Application Number:
  US10/664,707
• Publication Number:
  US 20050066333A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,769 Days
• Field of Search: 718/100, 709/224, 709212-216, 719/314, 719/318, 710/22, 711/100
• US Class Current: 719/318
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/548 Queue
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/546 Message passing systems or structures, e.g. queues

Abstract

The disclosed embodiments relate to a method and apparatus for providing notification. The apparatus may comprise a plurality of completion queue handlers associated with a communication device. Each of the plurality of completion queue handlers may be associated with a plurality of processes. At least one completion queue may be associated with at least one of the plurality of completion queue handlers.

Claims

1. A notification system, comprising:

one or more processors;

a plurality of completion queue handlers associated with a communication device, wherein a verb returns a number of the plurality of completion queue handlers that are associated with the communication device, each of the plurality of completion queue handlers associated with a process associated with a processor of the one or more processors; and

at least one completion queue associated with each one of the plurality of completion queue handlers, wherein each of the plurality of completion queue handlers are segregated to target a specific one of the one or more processors, and wherein the segregation of the plurality of completion queue handlers is to reduce cache line invalidation, cache line eviction, and/or unnecessary memory bus overhead associated with synchronization of accesses to memory locations used by the plurality of completion queue handlers.

2. The notification system set forth in claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of completion queue handlers generates an interrupt to the processor associated with the process.

3. The notification system set forth in claim 1, wherein a verb modifies an association of the at least one completion queue associated with at least one of the plurality of completion queue handlers.

4. The notification system set forth in claim 1, wherein a verb creates the at least one completion queue associated with at least one of the plurality of completion queue handlers.

5. The notification system set forth in claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of completion queue handlers are associated with at least one completion queue through a completion queue handler identifier.

6. A network, comprising:

a plurality of systems;

a switch network that connects the plurality of systems for communication; and

at least one of the plurality of systems, wherein the at least one of the plurality of systems comprises;

one or more processors;

a communication device having a plurality of completion queues and a plurality of completion queue handlers, wherein a verb returns a number of the plurality of completion queue handlers that are associated with the communication device; and

at least two completion queue handlers associated with the communication device, wherein each completion queue handler is associated with one of a plurality of processes and associated with at least one of the plurality of completion queues, wherein a first of the at least two completion queue handlers is associated with one of the plurality of processes and a second of the at least two completion queue handlers is associated with another of the plurality of processes, wherein each of the at least two completion queue handlers are segregated to target a specific one of the one or more processors, and wherein the segregation of the at least two completion queue handlers is to reduce cache line invalidation, cache line eviction, and/or unnecessary memory bus overhead associated with synchronization of accesses to memory locations used by the at least two completion queue handlers.

7. The network set forth in claim 6, wherein the first of at least two completion handlers communicates a first interrupt to a first processor associated with one of the plurality of processes and the second of the at least two completion handlers communicates a second interrupt to a second processor associated with another of the plurality of processes.

8. The network set forth in claim 6, wherein a verb modifies the association of the first of at least two completion handlers with one of the plurality of processes.

9. The network set forth in claim 6, wherein the at least two completion handlers reside in memory in the communication device.

10. The network set forth in claim 6, wherein the at least two completion handlers reside in memory of at least one of the plurality of systems that is external to the communication device.

11. A method for providing notification to a plurality of processes, the method comprising the acts of:

executing a plurality of processes on a plurality of processors;

creating a plurality of completion queues on a communication device, each of the plurality of completion queues associated with at least one of a plurality of completion queue handlers that are associated with the communication device, wherein each of the plurality of completion queue handlers are associated with one of the plurality of processes, wherein the plurality of completion queue handlers are segregated to target a specific one of the plurality of processors, and wherein the segregation of the plurality of the completion queue handlers is to reduce cache line invalidation, cache line eviction, and/or unnecessary memory bus overhead associated with synchronization of accesses memory locations used by the plurality of completion queue handlers;

issuing a verb to return a number of the plurality of completion queue handlers that are associated with the communication device;

placing a completion queue entry on one of the plurality of completion queues;

invoking one of the plurality of completion queue handlers associated with the one of the plurality of completion queues; and

notifying the one of the plurality of processes associated with the one of a plurality of completion queue handlers.

12. The method set forth in claim 11, wherein the notification comprises the one of the plurality of completion queue handlers sending an interrupt to one of the plurality of processors.

13. The method set forth in claim 11, comprising issuing a verb to create one of the plurality of completion queues.

14. The method set forth in claim 11, comprising modifying an association with the plurality of completion queue handlers through issuance of a second verb.

15. The method set forth in claim 11, wherein the creation of the plurality of completion queues comprises defining each of the plurality of completion queues in a memory.