Method and apparatus for monitoring and enhancing on-chip microprocessor reliability
First Claim
1. A method for monitoring a module, which includes one of a chip, integrated circuit printed wiring board and software module, based upon projected reliability, comprising the steps of:
- dividing a module into regions;
determining a module-wide reliability projection by performing reliability evaluations for module operations based upon measured operating physical characteristics of the module while the module is operating, the reliability projection including a measure of the reliability of the module based on current operating conditions of the module;
determining a reliability projection in each region;
comparing the reliability projection to a threshold to determine if an action is needed; and
in accordance with the comparing step, adjusting operating conditions of the module to modify the reliability projection as feedback for continuing operations in accordance with the threshold.
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Abstract
A system and method for projecting reliability to manage system functions includes an activity module which determines activity in the system. A reliability module interacts with the activity module to determine a reliability measurement for the module in real-time based upon the activity and measured operational quantities of the system. A management module manages actions of the system based upon the reliability measurement input from the reliability module. This may be to provide corrective action, to reallocate resources, increase reliability of the module, etc.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method for monitoring a module, which includes one of a chip, integrated circuit printed wiring board and software module, based upon projected reliability, comprising the steps of:
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dividing a module into regions; determining a module-wide reliability projection by performing reliability evaluations for module operations based upon measured operating physical characteristics of the module while the module is operating, the reliability projection including a measure of the reliability of the module based on current operating conditions of the module; determining a reliability projection in each region; comparing the reliability projection to a threshold to determine if an action is needed; and in accordance with the comparing step, adjusting operating conditions of the module to modify the reliability projection as feedback for continuing operations in accordance with the threshold. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for monitoring a module, which includes one of a chip, integrated circuit printed wiring board and software module, based upon projected reliability, the method steps comprising:
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dividing a module into regions; determining a module-wide reliability projection by performing reliability evaluations for module operations based upon measured operating physical characteristics of the module while the module is operating, the reliability projection including a measure of the reliability of the module based on current operating conditions of the module; determining reliability projections in each region; comparing the reliability projections to a threshold to determine if an action is needed; and in accordance with the comparing step, adjusting operating conditions of the module to modify the reliability projections as feedback for continuing operations in accordance with the threshold.
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12. A method for monitoring a module, which includes one of a chip, integrated circuit printed wiring board and software module, based upon projected reliability, comprising the steps of:
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dividing the module into regions; determining reliability projections in each region by performing reliability evaluations based upon measured operating physical characteristics of the module in each region; comparing the reliability projection in each region to a threshold to determine if an action is needed; and in accordance with the comparing step, adjusting operating conditions of the module. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification