Hardware wake-and-go mechanism and content addressable memory with instruction pre-fetch look-ahead to detect programming idioms

• US 8,452,947 B2
• Filed: 02/01/2008
• Issued: 05/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Arimilli, Ravi K., Sharma, Satya P., Swanberg, Randal C.
• Primary Examiner(s): HUISMAN, DAVID J
• Application Number:
  US12/024,507
• Publication Number:
  US 20110173423A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,943 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 712/220
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/543 Local
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/3851 from multiple instruction streams, e.g. multistreaming
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/542 Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications

Abstract

A hardware wake-and-go mechanism is provided for a data processing system. The wake-and-go mechanism looks ahead in the instruction stream of a thread for programming idioms that indicates that the thread is waiting for an event. The wake-and-go mechanism updates a wake-and-go array with a target address associated with the event for each recognized programming idiom. When the thread reaches a programming idiom, the thread goes to sleep until the event occurs. The wake-and-go array may be a content addressable memory (CAM). When a transaction appears on the symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) fabric that modifies the value at a target address in the CAM, the CAM returns a list of storage addresses at which the target address is stored. The wake-and-go mechanism associates these storage addresses with the threads waiting for an event at the target addresses, and may wake the one or more threads waiting for the event.

Claims

1. A method, in a data processing system, for performing a wake-and-go operation, the method comprising:

examining, by a hardware wake-and-go engine, an instruction stream being pre-fetched for a thread to detect a programming idiom that indicates the thread will be waiting for an event that modifies a data value at a target address, wherein the hardware wake-and-go engine comprises hardware logic associated with a bus and a content addressable memory and wherein examining the instruction stream is performed prior to execution of the instruction stream;

in response to the hardware wake-and-go engine detecting the programming idiom in the instruction stream, storing an entry in the content addressable memory with the target address;

responsive to the hardware wake-and-go engine detecting the programming idiom in the instruction stream, storing thread state information for the thread and placing the thread in a sleep state;

snooping, by the hardware wake-and-go engine, the bus;

responsive to the hardware wake-and-go engine detecting a transaction on the bus associated with the target address, determining whether the transaction corresponds to the event that modifies the data value at the target address; and

responsive to determining the transaction corresponds to the event that modifies the target address, placing the thread in a non-sleep state.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to the event that modifies the data value at the target address, determining whether to wake the thread.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein determining whether to wake the thread comprises determining whether a data value being written to the target address is a data value for which the thread is waiting.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the event is an asynchronous event caused by a device outside a processor running the thread.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the transaction corresponds to the event that modifies the data value at the target address comprises:

accessing, by the hardware wake-and-go engine, the content addressable memory using the target address; and

responsive to the hardware wake-and-go engine finding the entry containing the target address in the content addressable memory, determining by the hardware wake-and-go engine, whether a data value being written to the target address is a data value for which the thread is waiting.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the content addressable memory returns a storage address at which the target address is stored within the content addressable memory.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the programming idiom comprises an instruction sequence comprising a load command, a compare command, and a branch command.

8. A data processing system, comprising:

a processor;

a bus;

a hardware wake-and-go engine that comprises hardware logic associated with the bus; and

a content addressable memory associated with the hardware wake-and-go engine,

wherein the hardware wake-and-go engine is configured to;

examine an instruction stream being pre-fetched for a thread running on the processor to detect a programming idiom that indicates the thread will be waiting for an event that modifies a data value at a target address, wherein examining the instruction stream is performed prior to execution of the instruction stream;

in response to the hardware wake-and-go engine detecting the programming idiom in the instruction stream, store an entry in the content addressable memory with the target address;

responsive to the hardware wake-and-go engine detecting the programming idiom in the instruction stream, store thread state information for the thread and place the thread in a sleep state;

snoop the bus for a transaction associated with the target address;

responsive to the hardware wake-and-go engine detecting the transaction On the bus associated with the target address, determine whether the transaction corresponds to the event that modifies the data value at the target address; and

responsive to determining the transaction correspond to the event that modifies the target address, place the thread in a non-sleep state.

9. The data processing system of claim 8, wherein the hardware wake-and-go mechanism is further configured to determine whether to wake the thread responsive to the event that modifies the data value at the target address.

10. The data processing system of claim 9, wherein determining whether to wake the thread comprises determining whether a data value being written to the target address is a data value for which the thread is waiting.

11. The data processing system of claim 8, wherein the event is an asynchronous event caused by a device outside a processor running the thread.

12. The data processing system of claim 8, determining whether the transaction corresponds to the event that modifies the data value at the target address comprises:

accessing, by the hardware wake-and-go engine, the content addressable memory using the target address; and

responsive to the hardware wake-and-go engine finding the entry containing the target address in the content addressable memory, determining, by the hardware wake-and-go engine, whether a data value being written to the target address is a data value for which the thread is waiting.

13. The data processing system of claim 12, wherein the content addressable memory returns a storage address at which the target address is stored within the content addressable memory.

14. The data processing system of claim 8, wherein the programming idiom comprises an instruction sequence comprising a load command, a compare command, and a branch command.

15. A hardware wake-and-go engine, comprising:

hardware logic associated with a bus; and

a content addressable memory,

wherein the hardware wake-and-go engine is configured to;

examine an instruction stream being pre-fetched for a thread to detect a programming idiom that indicates the thread will be waiting for an event that modifies a data value at a target address, wherein examining the instruction stream is performed prior to execution of the instruction stream;

in response to the hardware wake-and-go engine detecting the programming idiom in the instruction stream, store an entry in the content addressable memory with the target address;

responsive to the hardware wake-and-go engine detecting the programming idiom in the instruction stream, store thread state information for the thread and place the thread in a sleep state;

snoop the bus for a transaction associated with the target address;

responsive to the hardware wake-and-go engine detecting the transaction on the bus associated with the target address, determine whether the transaction corresponds to the event that modifies the data value at the target address; and

responsive to determining the transaction corresponds to the event that modifies the target address, place the thread in a non-sleep state.

16. The hardware wake-and-go engine of claim 15, wherein determining whether the transaction corresponds to the event that modifies the data value at the target address comprises:

accessing, by the hardware wake-and-go engine, the content addressable memory using the target address; and

responsive to the hardware wake-and-go engine finding the entry containing the target address in the content addressable memory, determining, by the hardware wake-and-go engine, whether a data value being written to the target address is a data value for which the thread is waiting.

17. The hardware wake-and-go engine of claim 15, wherein the programming idiom comprises an instruction sequence comprising a load command, a compare command, and a branch command.