Task allocation device, task allocation method, and storage medium storing task allocation program

• US 8,897,372 B2
• Filed: 01/22/2010
• Issued: 11/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/18/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Ishizaka, Kazuhisa, Nishihara, Kosuke
• Primary Examiner(s): Diep, Nhon
• Assistant Examiner(s): Retallick, Kaitlin A
• Application Number:
  US13/201,150
• Publication Number:
  US 20110310977A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,768 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 375/240.24
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/483 Multiproc
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/501 Performance criteria
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4881 Scheduling strategies for dispatcher, e.g. round robin, multi-level priority queues
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5027 the resource being a machine, e.g. CPUs, Servers, Terminals

Abstract

To reduce performance degradation due to a high-performance core'"'"'s waiting for a processing result of a low-performance core in a multi-core processor including a plurality of cores with different running performance, included are a task pool that stores executable tasks for each computational core, a task scheduler, and a reference count analysis module that acquires hint information and a reference count estimation method from a running task and estimates a reference count of a task to be newly inserted into the task pool or a task existing in the task pool based on the specified method. The scheduler performs insertion and acquisition of a task by mainly using performance of the cores and the reference count.

Claims

1. A task allocation device comprising:

a multi-core processor including a plurality of computational cores with different running performance;

a task pool that stores executable tasks, the task pool being placed for each of the computational cores;

a task scheduler configured to insert a new task into the task pool and acquire a task from the task pool; and

a reference count analysis module configured to calculate a reference count of a task, the reference count indicating a number of other tasks that refer to a processing result of the task, wherein;

the reference count analysis module is configured to;

calculate the reference count of a task newly inserted into the task pool or the reference count of a task existing in the task pool, based on the other tasks currently being executed or the other tasks already done, while other preceding tasks are executed by the computational cores,

acquire hint information and a reference count estimation method from a running task, and

estimate the reference count from the hint information based on the reference count estimation method; and

the task scheduler is configured to insert or acquire the task into or from the task pool based on the reference count calculated by the reference count analysis module.

2. The task allocation device according to claim 1, wherein

the tasks are createa by dividing video encoding or decoding in units or macroblocks, and

the reference count analysis module is configured to acquire a bit stream of a relevant macroblock as the hint information, acquire a method of decoding only encoding parameters such as a macroblock type, a screen prediction mode and a filter parameter from the bit stream as the reference count estimation method, and estimate the reference count from the encoding parameters.

3. A task allocation method comprising:

calculating a reference count of a task newly inserted into a task pool or the reference count of a task existing in a task pool, based on other tasks currently being executed or other tasks already done, while other preceding tasks are executed by computational cores, the reference count indicating a number of the other tasks that refer to a processing result of the task;

acquiring hint information and a reference count estimation method from a running task;

estimating the reference count from the hint information based on the reference count estimation method; and

performing insertion of a task into the task pool and acquisition of a task from the task pool based on the calculated reference count.

4. The task allocation method according to claim 3, wherein

the tasks are created by dividing video encoding or decoding in units of macroblocks,

the hint information is a bit stream of a relevant macroblock, and

the reference count estimation method is to decode only encoding parameters such as a macroblock type, a screen prediction mode and a filter parameter from the bit stream and estimate the reference count from the encoding parameters.

5. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium ukringu program therein, the program being executed by a computer to cause the computer to execute processing comprising:

calculating a reference count of a task newly inserted into a task pool or the reference count of a task existing in a task pool, based on other tasks currently being executed or other tasks already done, while other preceding tasks are executed by computational cores, the reference count indicating a number of the other tasks that refer to a processing result of the task,

acquiring hint information and a reference count estimation method from a running task,

estimating the reference count from the hint information based on the reference count estimation method; and

performing insertion of a task into the task pool and acquisition of a task from the task pool based on the calculated reference count.

6. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing the program according to claim 5, wherein:

the tasks are created by dividing video encoding or decoding in units of macroblocks,

the hint information is a bit stream of a relevant macroblock, and

the reference count estimation method is to decode only encoding parameters such as a macroblock type, a screen prediction mode and a filter parameter from the bit stream and estimate the reference count from the encoding parameters.