Functional-level instruction-set computer architecture for processing application-layer content-service requests such as file-access requests

• US 7,908,464 B2
• Filed: 07/31/2007
• Issued: 03/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: RPX Corporation
• Original Assignee: Alacritech, Inc.
• Inventors: Mertoguno, J. Sukarno, Tripathy, Tarun Kumar, Kharidia, Mehul, Mittal, Millind
• Primary Examiner(s): PAN, DANIEL H
• Application Number:
  US11/888,411
• Publication Number:
  US 20080022073A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,323 Days
• Field of Search: 712/220, 712/225
• US Class Current: 712/220
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/10 Streamlined, light-weight or high-speed protocols, e.g. express transfer protocol [XTP] or byte stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/161 Implementation details of TCP/IP or UDP/IP stack architecture; Specification of modified or new header fields
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/165 Combined use of TCP and UDP protocols; selection criteria therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A functional-level instruction-set computing (FLIC) architecture executes higher-level functional instructions such as lookups and bit-compares of variable-length operands. Each FLIC processing-engine slice has specialized processing units including a lookup unit that searches for a matching entry in a lookup cache. Variable-length operands are stored in execution buffers. The operand length and location in the execution buffer are stored in fixed-length general-purpose registers (GPRs) that also store fixed-length operands. A copy/move unit moves data between input and output buffers and one or more FLIC processing-engine slices. Multiple contexts can each have a set of GPRs and execution buffers. An expansion buffer in a FLIC slice can be allocated to a context to expand that context'"'"'s execution buffer for storing longer operands. The FLIC engine is optimized to parse, lookup, and process long strings common in content-service requests and can offload file-server requests by looking up meta-data and pointers.

Claims

1. A file server comprising:

an offload device coupled to receive file-access requests from a network, the offload device including;

a memory, the memory allocated by the offload device, the memory storing lookup tables having entries, one or more of the entries comprising a tag storing a first variable-length string;

a plurality of processing units for executing functional-level instructions, the functional-level instructions including instructions operating on operands of variable-length, the processing units including a lookup unit;

wherein one of the processing units includes a plurality of processing slices operating in parallel, each processing slice processing a request, the request seeking to access a file, the request including a second variable-length string, the request having a context allocated by the offload device, the context comprising;

an execution buffer that stores a variable-length operand, the variable-length operand representing the second variable-length string;

a first fixed-length register storing a pointer that indicates a location for the variable-length operand;

a second fixed-length register storing an operand-length that indicates a length for the variable-length operand or storing a pointer that indicates the end of the variable-length operand;

wherein a functional-level instruction identifies the variable-length operand stored in the execution buffer by specifying a first register number for the first fixed-length register and a second register number for the second fixed-length register, the lookup unit searches the lookup tables for an entry, and the first variable-length string stored in the tag for the entry matches the variable-length operand.

2. The file server of claim 1, further comprising:

an output buffer that stores a response to the request, the response including one or more attributes for the file, the processing units generating the response by executing a routine of functional-level instructions;

wherein the response is output to the network and the offload device completes the processing of the request and outputting of the response without accessing a processor that runs a general purpose instruction set.

3. The file server of claim 1, wherein the second variable-length string includes a file handle or a file name.

4. The file server of claim 1, wherein the lookup tables further store pointers to meta-data, the lookup unit obtaining from the lookup tables a pointer to meta-data pertaining to the file.

5. The file server of claim 4, further comprising;

an output buffer storing a response to the request, the response including the pointer to meta-data.

6. The file server of claim 1, wherein the lookup tables further store meta-data, the lookup unit obtaining from the lookup tables meta-data pertaining to the file.

7. The file server of claim 6, further comprising;

an output buffer storing a response to the request, the response including the meta-data.

8. The file server of claim 1, further comprising:

an input buffer that stores the request; and

an output buffer that stores a response to the request, the response including a third variable-length string, the processing units generating the response by executing a routine of functional-level instructions.

9. The file server of claim 8, wherein the input buffer includes plural storage areas, and a storage area is assigned to the context.

10. A file server comprising:

a central processing unit (CPU) running an instruction set including a plurality of instructions to operate a file system that organizes a plurality of files and meta-data pertaining to the files; and

an offload device coupled to receive file-access requests from a network, the offload device comprising an output buffer coupled to the CPU;

a memory, the memory allocated by the offload device, the memory storing lookup tables having entries, one or more of the entries comprising a tag storing a first variable-length string;

processing units for executing functional-level instructions belonging to a functional-level instruction set, the functional-level instructions including instructions operating on operands of variable-length, the processing units comprising a lookup unit;

wherein each of the processing units includes a plurality of processing slices operating in parallel, each processing slice processing a request, the request seeking to access a file, the file being one of the plurality of files, the request including a second variable-length string, the request having a context allocated by the offload device, the context including;

an execution buffer that stores a variable-length operand, the variable-length operand representing the second variable-length string;

a first fixed-length register storing a pointer that indicates a location for the variable-length operand;

a second fixed-length register storing an operand-length that indicates a length for the variable-length operand or storing a pointer that indicates the end of the variable-length operand;

wherein a functional-level instruction identifies the variable-length operand stored in the execution buffer by specifying a first register number for the first fixed-length register and a second register number for the second fixed-length register, the lookup unit searches the lookup tables for an entry, and the first variable-length string stored in the tag for the entry matches the variable-length operand.

11. The file server of claim 10, wherein the lookup tables further store pointers to meta-data, the lookup unit obtaining from the lookup tables a pointer to meta-data pertaining to the file;

wherein the output buffer stores a partial response to the request, the partial response including the pointer to meta-data pertaining to the file;

wherein the CPU receives the partial response from the output buffer and executes routines of instructions for further processing of the partial response.

12. The file server of claim 11, further comprising:

non-volatile file storage means for storing the plurality of files, the non-volatile file storage means coupled to the CPU;

wherein the further processing of the partial response includes accessing meta-data pertaining to the file at a location in the non-volatile file storage means, the location indicated by the pointer to meta-data pertaining to the file.

13. The file server of claim 10, wherein the lookup tables further store pointers to data, the lookup unit obtaining from the lookup tables a pointer to data for the file;

wherein the output buffer stores a partial response to the request, the partial response including the pointer to data for the file;

wherein the CPU receives the partial response from the output buffer and executes routines of instructions for further processing of the partial response.

14. The file server of claim 13, further comprising:

non-volatile file storage means for storing the plurality of files, the non-volatile file storage means coupled to the CPU;

wherein the further processing of the partial response includes accessing data for the file at a location in the non-volatile file storage means, the location indicated by the pointer to data for the file.

15. The file server of claim 10, wherein the second variable-length string includes a file handle or a file name.

16. A file server comprising:

an offload device processing a request received from a network, the request seeking to access a file, the offload device including;

a memory, the memory allocated by the offload device, the memory storing lookup tables having entries, one or more of the entries comprising a tag storing a first variable-length string;

a plurality of processing units for executing functional-level instructions, the functional-level instructions including instructions operating on operands of variable-length, the processing units including a lookup unit;

an execution buffer allocated by the offload device, the execution buffer storing a variable-length operand, the variable-length operand representing a second variable-length string, the second variable-length string extracted from the request;

a first fixed-length register storing a pointer that indicates a location for the variable-length operand;

a second fixed-length register storing an operand-length that indicates a length for the variable-length operand or storing a pointer that indicates the end of the variable-length operand; and

an output buffer that stores a response to the request, the response including one or more attributes for the file, the processing units generating the response by executing a routine of functional-level instructions;

wherein a functional-level instruction identifies the variable-length operand stored in the execution buffer by specifying a first register number for the first fixed-length register and a second register number for the second fixed-length register, the lookup unit searches the lookup tables for an entry, the first variable-length string stored in the tag for the entry matches the variable-length operand, and the response is output to the network and the offload device completes the processing of the request and outputting of the response without accessing a processor that runs a general purpose instruction set.

17. The file server of claim 16, wherein the second variable-length string includes a file handle or a file name.

18. The file server of claim 16, wherein the lookup tables further store pointers to meta-data, the lookup unit obtaining from the lookup tables a pointer to meta-data pertaining to the file.

19. The file server of claim 18, further comprising;

an output buffer storing a response to the request, the response including the pointer to meta-data.

20. The file server of claim 16, wherein the lookup tables further store meta-data, the lookup unit obtaining from the lookup tables meta-data pertaining to the file.

21. The file server of claim 20, further comprising;

an output buffer storing a response to the request, the response including the meta-data.

22. The file server of claim 16, further comprising:

an input buffer that stores the request; and

an output buffer that stores a response to the request, the response including a third variable-length string, the processing units generating the response by executing a routine of functional-level instructions.