Trace/failure observation system, trace/failure observation method, and trace/failure observation program

• US 8,799,753 B2
• Filed: 02/03/2009
• Issued: 08/05/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Suzuki, Noriaki, Sakai, Junji
• Primary Examiner(s): Riad, Amine
• Application Number:
  US12/863,934
• Publication Number:
  US 20100299564A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,009 Days
• Field of Search: 714/819
• US Class Current: 714/819
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3636 by tracing the execution of the program
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3648 using additional hardware

Abstract

There is provided a trace/failure observation system which is capable of comprehensive collection of information that is needed for checking a desired operation in a system or the like where the amount of information to be observed is large, and which allows easy analysis of the desired operation. The system includes, in a system LSI to be subjected to trace/failure observation: an event detecting means for observing behavior of a portion to be observed; a first data reducing means for performing observation data reduction processing so that observation data from the event detecting means has an amount of information processable to a second data reducing means; and the second data reducing means for performing one or more steps of observation data reduction processing.

Claims

1. A trace system arranged in a system LSI (Large Scale Integration) to be subjected to trace, the system comprising:

an event detecting unit for observing behavior of the system LSI to be observed and detecting an event to obtain observation data on the detected event;

a first data reducing unit for performing first reduction processing on the observation data obtained by the event detecting unit according to a reduction condition;

a second data reducing unit for performing second reduction processing, which is different from the first reduction processing, on the reduced observation data obtained through the first reduction processing performed by the first data reducing unit;

an interrupt condition filter configured to make a matching notification when detecting an event that matches a set interrupt condition; and

an interrupt control unit configured to perform control such as setting whether or not to make an interrupt notification to the second data reducing unit when receiving the matching notification from the interrupt condition filter, wherein

the second data reducing unit controls the reduction condition for the first reduction processing of the first data reducing unit depending on the reduced observation data obtained by the first data reducing unit so that the reduced observation data has an amount of information processable by the second data reducing unit.

2. The trace system according to claim 1, wherein the second data reducing unit includes a control processor, a storage device, and a data reduction program.

3. The trace system according to claim 1, wherein the second data reducing unit has a function of performing parallel processing on two or more data series.

4. The trace system according to claim 1, wherein the second data reducing unit is constituted by a state machine function.

5. The trace system according to claim 1, further comprising an observation data buffer that temporarily stores observation data output from the first data reducing unit.

6. The trace system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a next condition holding unit that holds a next condition to be set in the first data reducing unit and the interrupt condition filter, and sets the next condition in the first data reducing unit and the interrupt condition filter held when receiving a condition change instruction.

7. The trace system according to claim 1, wherein

the first data reducing unit performs the reduction processing within a cycle time from arrival of a piece of observation data to that of a next piece of observation data.

8. The trace system according to claim 1, wherein

the first data reducing unit performs the reduction processing within a cycle time by defining a data series and determining data to pass depending on whether or not the data coincides with the defined data series.

9. The trace system according to claim 1, wherein:

the first data reducing unit reduces data by selecting part of pieces of data; and

the second data reducing unit reduces data by selecting part of data from a group of data.

10. The trace system according to claim 1, wherein:

the trace system needs a period longer than or equal to a cycle time from arrival of a piece of observation data to that of a next piece of observation data to determine whether or not to change control, or to control the first data reducing unit; and

the second data reducing unit switches, depending on a result of detection by the event detecting unit, between a control of setting the first data reducing unit so as to pass observation data both pertaining to a first series of observation data and a second series of observation data and selecting data in the first series of observation data for data reduction and a control of setting the first data reducing unit so as to pass observation data pertaining to the second series of observation data.

11. The trace system according to claim 1, wherein:

the trace system needs a period longer than or equal to a cycle time from arrival of a piece of observation data to that of a next piece of observation data to determine whether or not to change control, or to control the first data reducing unit; and

the second data reducing unit switches, depending on a result of detection by the event detecting unit, between a control of setting the first data reducing unit so as to pass observation data both pertaining to a first series of observation data and a second series of observation data and selecting data in the first series of observation data for data reduction and a control of setting the first data reducing unit so as to pass observation data pertaining to the second series of observation data and selecting data pertaining the second series of observation data for data reduction.

12. A trace method to be performed in a system LSI (Large Scale Integration) to be subjected to trace according to program instructions stored in a computer-readable medium, the instructions causing a computer to execute:

an event detecting unit observing behavior of the system LSI to be observed and detecting an event to obtain observation data on the detected event;

a first data reducing unit performing first reduction processing on the observation data obtained by the event detecting unit according to a reduction condition;

a second data reducing unit performing second reduction processing, which is different from the first reduction processing, on the reduced observation data obtained through the first reduction processing performed by the first data reducing unit;

an interrupt condition filter configured to make a matching notification when detecting an event that matches a set interrupt condition; and

an interrupt control unit configured to perform control such as setting whether or not to make an interrupt notification to the second data reducing unit when receiving the matching notification from the interrupt condition filter, wherein

the second data reducing unit controls the reduction condition for the first reduction processing of the first data reducing unit depending on the reduced observation data obtained by the first data reducing unit so that the reduced observation data has an amount of information processable by the second data reducing unit.

13. A non-transitory computer readable recording medium that records a trace program causing a trace system to execute a process, the trace system being arranged in a system LSI (Large Scale Integration) to be subjected to trace, the process including:

an event detecting unit observing behavior of the system LSI to be observed and detecting an event to obtain observation data on the detected event;

a first data reducing unit performing first reduction processing on the observation data obtained by the event detecting unit according to a reduction condition;

a second data reducing unit performing second reduction processing, which is different from the first reduction processing, on the reduced observation data obtained through the first reduction processing performed by the first data reducing unit;

an interrupt condition filter making a matching notification when detecting an event that matches a set interrupt condition; and

an interrupt control unit performing control such as setting whether or not to make an interrupt notification to the second data reducing unit when receiving the matching notification from the interrupt condition filter, wherein

the second data reducing unit controls the reduction condition for the first reduction processing of the first data reducing unit depending on the observation data obtained by the first data reducing unit so that the reduced observation data has an amount of information processable by the second data reducing unit.