Remote update programming idiom accelerator with allocated processor resources

• US 8,886,919 B2
• Filed: 04/16/2009
• Issued: 11/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• 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): Partridge, William B
• Application Number:
  US12/424,952
• Publication Number:
  US 20100268915A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,035 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 712/220
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/00 Arrangements for program control, e.g. control units program control for peripheral devices G06F13/10
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/461 Saving or restoring of program or task context
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/485 Task life-cycle, e.g. stopping, restarting, resuming execution G06F9/4881 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/52 Program synchronisation; Mutual exclusion, e.g. by means of semaphores

Abstract

A data processing system comprises at least one processing unit, a virtualization layer, and a remote update programming idiom accelerator. The remote update programming idiom accelerator is configured to receive a complex remote update programming idiom from a remote node. Responsive to a determination that the sequence of instructions in the complex remote update programming idiom is longer than a dedicated processor threshold, the remote update programming idiom accelerator is configured to request a processing unit from the virtualization layer in the data processing system, and receive an allocation of a processing unit from the virtualization layer. The allocated processing unit is configured to read the data from the storage location local to the data processing system, execute the sequence of instructions to perform the update operation on the data to form result data, and write the result data to the storage location local to the data processing system.

Claims

1. A method, in a data processing system, for performing a remote update, the method comprising:

receiving, at a remote update programming idiom accelerator within the data processing system, a complex remote update programming idiom from a remote computer system, wherein the complex remote update programming idiom is a sequence of instructions from a process executing on the remote computer system including a read operation for reading data from a storage location local to the data processing system and not local to the remote computer system, at least one update operation for performing an operation on the data to form result data, and a write operation for writing the result data to the storage location local to the data processing system;

determining whether the sequence of instructions is longer than a dedicated processor threshold;

responsive to a determination that the sequence of instructions is longer than the dedicated processor threshold, requesting processing resources from a virtualization layer in the data processing system;

receiving an allocation of processing resources from the virtualization layer;

reading, by the allocated processing resources, the data from the storage location local to the data processing system;

executing, by the allocated processing resources, the sequence of instructions to perform the update operation on the data to form the result data;

writing, by the processing resources, the result data to the storage location local to the data processing system; and

returning a completion notification from the remote update programming idiom accelerator to the remote computer system informing the remote computer system that processing of the complex remote update programming idiom has completed on the data processing system.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to a determination that the sequence of instructions is not longer than the dedicated processor threshold, performing the complex remote update by the remote update programming idiom accelerator.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein performing the complex remote update comprises:

reading, by the remote update programming idiom accelerator, the data from the storage location local to the data processing system;

executing, by the remote update programming idiom accelerator, the sequence of instructions to perform the update operation on the data to form the result data;

writing, by the remote update programming idiom accelerator, the result data to the storage location local to the data processing system; and

returning a completion notification from the remote update programming idiom accelerator to the remote node informing the remote node that processing of the complex remote update programming idiom has completed on the remote update programming idiom accelerator.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

dynamically determining, by the remote update programming idiom accelerator, the dedicated processor threshold based on remote update demand.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining an instruction size threshold value for the data processing system; and

sending the instruction size threshold value for the data processing system to each remote computer system connected to the data processing system within a heartbeat message, wherein each remote computer system determines whether to send a remote update programming idiom to the data processing system based on a comparison of the remote update programming idiom to the instruction size threshold.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein determining the instruction size threshold comprises:

receiving processor utilization information from the virtualization layer; and

determining the instruction size threshold based on the processor utilization information.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting, by the remote update programming idiom accelerator, a second complex remote update in an instruction sequence of a thread running on a processing unit within the data processing system, wherein the second complex remote update programming idiom includes a second read operation for reading second data from a storage location at a second remote computer system, a second sequence of instructions for performing a second update operation on the second data to form second result data, and a second write operation for writing the second result data to the storage location at the second remote computer system;

determining whether the second sequence of instructions is longer than an instruction size threshold associated with the second remote computer system; and

responsive to a determination that the second sequence of instructions is not longer than the instruction size threshold associated with the second remote computer system, transmitting the second complex remote update programming idiom from the remote update programming idiom accelerator to the second remote computer system to perform the second update operation on the second data at the second remote computer system.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

responsive to a determination that the second sequence of instructions is longer than the instruction size threshold associated with the second remote computer system, performing the second complex remote update by the thread running on the processing unit by creating a communications session between the thread and the second remote computer system.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving the instruction size threshold associated with the second remote computer system within a heartbeat message from the second remote computer system.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the remote update programming idiom accelerator comprises a dedicated processor associated with a bus within the data processing system.

11. A data processing system, comprising:

at least one processing unit implemented in hardware;

a virtualization layer; and

a remote update programming idiom accelerator, wherein the remote update programming idiom accelerator is configured to receive a complex remote update programming idiom from a remote computer system, wherein the complex remote update programming idiom is a sequence of instructions from a process executing on the remote computer system including a read operation for reading data from a storage location local to the data processing system and not local to the remote computer system, at least one update operation for performing an operation on the data to form result data, and a write operation for writing the result data to the storage location local to the data processing system;

wherein the remote update programming idiom accelerator is configured to determine whether the sequence of instructions is longer than a dedicated processor threshold, responsive to a determination that the sequence of instructions is longer than the dedicated processor threshold, request a processing unit from the virtualization layer in the data processing system, and receive an allocation of a processing unit from the virtualization layer;

wherein the allocated processing unit is configured to read the data from the storage location local to the data processing system, execute the sequence of instructions to perform the update operation on the data to form result data, and write the result data to the storage location local to the data processing system; and

wherein the remote update programming idiom accelerator is configured to return a completion notification from the remote update programming idiom accelerator to the remote computer system informing the remote computer system that processing of the complex remote update programming idiom has completed on the data processing system.

12. The data processing system of claim 11, wherein the remote update programming idiom accelerator is further configured to, responsive to a determination that the sequence of instructions is not longer than the dedicated processor threshold, perform the complex remote update by the remote update programming idiom accelerator.

13. The data processing system of claim 12, wherein performing the complex remote update comprises:

reading, by the remote update programming idiom accelerator, the data from the storage location local to the data processing system;

executing, by the remote update programming idiom accelerator, the sequence of instructions to perform the update operation on the data to form the result data;

writing, by the remote update programming idiom accelerator, the result data to the storage location local to the data processing system; and

returning a completion notification from the remote update programming idiom accelerator to the remote computer system informing the remote computer system that processing of the complex remote update programming idiom has completed on the remote update programming idiom accelerator.

14. The data processing system of claim 11, wherein the remote update programming idiom accelerator is further configured to dynamically determine the dedicated processor threshold based on remote update demand.

15. The data processing system of claim 11, wherein the remote update programming idiom accelerator is further configured to:

determine an instruction size threshold value for the data processing system; and

send the instruction size threshold value for the data processing system to each remote computer system connected to the data processing system within a heartbeat message, wherein each remote computer system determines whether to send a remote update programming idiom to the data processing system based on a comparison of the remote update programming idiom to the instruction size threshold.

16. The data processing system of claim 15, wherein determining the instruction size threshold comprises:

receiving processor utilization information from the virtualization layer; and

determining the instruction size threshold based on the processor utilization information.

17. The data processing system of claim 11, wherein the remote update programming idiom accelerator is further configured to:

detect a second complex remote update in an instruction sequence of a thread running on a processing unit within the data processing system, wherein the second complex remote update programming idiom includes a second read operation for reading second data from a storage location at a second remote computer system, a second sequence of instructions for performing a second update operation on the second data to form second result data, and a second write operation for writing the second result data to the storage location at the second remote computer system;

determine whether the second sequence of instructions is longer than an instruction size threshold associated with the second remote computer system; and

responsive to a determination that the second sequence of instructions is not longer than the instruction size threshold associated with the second remote computer system, transmit the second complex remote update programming idiom from the remote update programming idiom accelerator to the second remote computer system to perform the second update operation on the second data at the second remote computer system.

18. The data processing system of claim 17, wherein the remote update programming idiom accelerator is further configured to:

responsive to a determination that the second sequence of instructions is longer than the instruction size threshold associated with the second remote computer system, perform the second complex remote update by the thread running on the processing unit by creating a communications session between the thread and the second remote computer system.

19. The data processing system of claim 17, wherein the remote update programming idiom accelerator is further configured to:

receive the instruction size threshold associated with the second remote computer system within a heartbeat message from the second remote computer system.

20. The data processing system of claim 11, wherein the remote update programming idiom accelerator comprises a dedicated processor associated with a bus within the data processing system.