Executing multiple threads in a processor

• US 8,341,639 B2
• Filed: 09/29/2010
• Issued: 12/25/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/05/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Lewis, Russell Lee
• Primary Examiner(s): To, Jennifer
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kawsar, Abdullah Al
• Application Number:
  US12/894,034
• Publication Number:
  US 20110023043A1
• Time in Patent Office: 818 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 718/104
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4881 Scheduling strategies for dispatcher, e.g. round robin, multi-level priority queues

Abstract

Provided are a method, system, and program for executing multiple threads in a processor. Credits are set for a plurality of threads executed by the processor. The processor alternates among executing the threads having available credit. The processor decrements the credit for one of the threads in response to executing the thread and initiates an operation to reassign credits to the threads in response to depleting all the thread credits.

Claims

1. An article of manufacture comprising a computer readable storage medium including code executed by a processor to access buffers and perform operations, the operations comprising:

setting a replenish thread to be in a state to not run out of credits;

performing a setting of credits in the buffers for a plurality of threads executed by the processor, wherein the credits for each of the threads comprise a number of credits, wherein one of the threads having credits can be selected for execution and wherein the threads having no credits are not selected for execution;

alternating among executing the threads having available credits;

decrementing the credits available for one of the threads to reduce the number of available credits for the thread in response to executing the thread;

in response to the setting of the credits of the threads, setting a replenish flag for the replenish thread to a first value of at least two values to indicate that the replenish thread will not execute until the threads are not runnable, wherein the threads having no available credits are not runnable;

determining whether the replenish flag for the replenish thread is set to the first value and whether the threads are runnable; and

initiating by the replenish thread an operation to reassign credits to the threads in response to the determining that the replenish flag is set to the first value and that the threads are not runnable.

2. The article of manufacture of claim 1, wherein initiating the operation to reassign the credits comprises alternating among executing the threads having available credit in response to the replenish thread resetting the thread credits.

3. The article of manufacture of claim 1, wherein the thread credits are maintained in processor buffers, wherein the operations further comprise:

executing an operating system scheduler to configure the processor to execute the threads and set the thread credits.

4. The article of manufacture of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

executing a pause instruction when executing one of the threads; and

indicating the thread in which the pause instruction is executed as paused, wherein the processor does not execute the thread indicated as paused, and wherein the operation to reassign the credits is executed in response to all the threads assigned credits either having no available credits or being in the paused state.

5. The article of manufacture of claim 4, wherein the operations further comprise:

initiating monitoring for an event in response to executing the pause instruction; and

indicating the thread having the paused status as not paused in response to detecting the event during the monitoring, wherein the thread whose status is changed from paused to not paused is enabled to be executed by the processor if the thread has available credits.

6. The article of manufacture of claim 5, wherein the pause instruction indicates a memory location which the thread on which the pause instruction is executed needs to access, wherein the event comprises a change to the indicated memory location.

7. The article of manufacture of claim 1, wherein each of the threads is not runnable if the thread has no available credits, is blocked or otherwise unable to run.

8. The article of manufacture of claim 1, wherein the setting the replenish thread to be in the state to not run out of credits comprises setting the replenish thread to have infinite credits.

9. A system, comprising:

a processor;

buffers accessible to the processor;

an operating system scheduler executed by the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising;

setting a replenish thread to be in a state to not run out of credits;

performing a setting of credits in the buffers for a plurality of threads executed by the processor wherein the credits for each of the threads comprise a number of credits, wherein one of the threads having credits can be selected for execution and wherein the threads having no credits are not selected for execution; and

code executed by the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising;

alternating among executing the threads having available credits;

decrementing the credits available for one of the threads to reduce the number of available credits for the thread in response to executing the thread;

in response to the setting of the credits of the threads, setting a replenish flag for the replenish thread to a first value of at least two values to indicate that the replenish thread will not execute until the threads are not runnable, wherein the threads having no available credits are not runnable;

determining whether the replenish flag for the replenish thread is set to the first value and whether the threads are runnable; and

initiating, by the replenish thread, an operation to reassign credits to the threads in response to the determining that the replenish flag is set to the first value and that the threads are not runnable.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein initiating the operation to reassign the credits comprises alternating among executing the threads having available credit in response to the replenish thread resetting the thread credits.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the buffers are included in the processor and wherein the operating system scheduler is further executed to perform operations comprising:

configuring the processor to execute the threads.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the code is further executed by the processor to perform operations comprising:

executing a pause instruction when executing one of the threads; and

indicating the thread in which the pause instruction is executed as paused, wherein the processor does not execute the thread indicated as paused, and wherein the operation to reassign the credits is executed in response to all the threads assigned credits either having no available credits or being in the paused state.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein each of the threads is not runnable if the thread has no available credits, is blocked or otherwise unable to run.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the setting the replenish thread to be in the state to not run out of credits comprises setting the replenish thread to have infinite credits.

15. A method, comprising:

setting a replenish thread to be in a state to not run out of credits;

performing a setting of credits for a plurality of threads executed by a processor, wherein the credits for each of the threads comprise a number of credits, wherein one of the threads having credits can be selected for execution and wherein the threads having no credits are not selected for execution;

alternating, by the processor, among executing the threads having available credits;

decrementing, by the processor, the credits available for one of the threads to reduce the number of available credits for the thread in response to executing the thread;

in response to the setting of the credits of the threads, setting, by the processor, a replenish flag for the replenish thread to a first value of at least two values to indicate that the replenish thread will not execute until the threads are not runnable, wherein the threads having no available credits are not runnable;

determining, by the processor, whether the replenish flag for the replenish thread is set to the first value and whether the threads are runnable; and

initiating an operation, by the processor, to execute the replenish thread to reassign credits to the threads in response to the determining that the replenish flag is set to the first value and that the threads are not runnable.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein initiating the operation to reassign the credits comprises alternating, by the processor, among executing the threads having available credit in response to the replenish thread resetting the thread credits.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the thread credits are maintained in processor buffers, further comprising:

configuring, by an operating system scheduler, the processor to execute the threads and set the thread credits.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

executing, by the processor, a pause instruction when executing one of the threads; and

indicating, by the processor, the thread in which the pause instruction is executed as paused, wherein the processor does not execute the thread indicated as paused, and wherein the operation to reassign the credits is executed in response to all the threads assigned credits either having no available credits or being in the paused state.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein each of the threads is not runnable if the thread has no available credits, is blocked or otherwise unable to run.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the setting the replenish thread to be in the state to not run out of credits comprises setting the replenish thread to have infinite credits.