Coherency overcommit

• US 9,367,504 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2013
• Issued: 06/14/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Guthrie, Guy L., Marino, Charles F., Siegel, Michael S., Starke, William J., Stuecheli, Jeffrey A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mamo, Elias
• Application Number:
  US14/137,264
• Publication Number:
  US 20150178233A1
• Time in Patent Office: 907 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/362 with centralised access control
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4031 with arbitration
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

One or more systems, devices, methods, and/or processes described can receive, via an interconnect, messages from processing nodes and a first portion of the messages can displace a second portion of the messages based on priorities of the first portion of messages or based on expirations times of the second portion of messages. In one example, the second portion of messages can be stored via a buffer of a fabric controller (FBC) of the interconnect, and the first portion of messages, associated with higher priorities than the second portion of messages, can displace the second portion of messages in the buffer. For instance, the second portion of messages can include speculative commands. In another example, the second portion of messages can be stored via the buffer, and the second portion of messages, associated with expiration times, can displace the second portion of messages based on the expiration times.

Claims

1. A data processing system, comprising:

an interconnect;

a plurality of processing nodes coupled to the interconnect; and

a fabric controller configured to;

responsive to receiving via the interconnect a plurality of messages from the plurality of processing nodes, store, via a buffer, at least a first message of the plurality of messages and a second message of the plurality of messages such that both the first message and second message are held in the buffer at a same time;

make a determination of at least one of a set including;

that a first amount of time has transpired that exceeds a first expiration associated with the first message;

responsive to the determination;

store, via displacing the first message from the buffer, a third message of the plurality of messages in the buffer;

transmit on the interconnect a drop message that specifically indicates that the first message of the plurality of messages was dropped; and

transmit the second and third messages to at least one processor unit of the plurality of processing nodes.

2. The data processing system of claim 1, wherein the fabric controller further:

determines at least one of;

that a fourth message of the plurality of messages is not associated with a higher priority than a priority associated the second message; and

that a second amount of time has not transpired that exceeds a second expiration of associated with the second message; and

drops the fourth message in response to determining at least one of;

that the fourth message of the plurality of messages is not associated with the higher priority than the priority associated the second message and that the second amount of time has not transpired that exceeds the second expiration of associated with the second message.

3. The data processing system of claim 2, wherein the fabric controller further:

in response to dropping the fourth message, provides, to a processing node of the plurality of processing nodes that provided the fourth message, a drop message that indicates that the fourth message was dropped.

4. The data processing system of claim 1, wherein the interconnect further:

in response to dropping the fourth message, stores a drop message that indicates that the fourth message was dropped.

5. The data processing system of claim 1, wherein the interconnect further:

detects that the buffer, storing at least the first message and the second message, is at a capacity;

wherein the interconnect makes the determination in response to detecting that the buffer is at the capacity.

6. The data processing system of claim 1, wherein the interconnect includes an interconnect fabric.

7. The data processing system of claim 1, wherein the data processing system includes a symmetric multiprocessor system.

14. The data processing system of claim 1, wherein the determination further includes a determination that the third message of the plurality of messages is associated with a higher priority than a priority associated the first message.

8. A fabric controller of an interconnect fabric configured to be coupled to a plurality of processing nodes and configured such that the fabric controller:

responsive to receiving via the interconnect a plurality of messages from the plurality of processing nodes, store, via a buffer, at least a first message of the plurality of messages and a second message of the plurality of messages such that both the first message and second message are held in the buffer at a same time;

make a determination of at least one of a set including;

that a first amount of time has transpired that exceeds a first expiration associated with the first message;

in response to said determination;

store, via displacing the first message from the buffer, a third message of the plurality of messages in the buffer;

transmit on the interconnect a drop message that specifically indicates that the first message of the plurality of messages was dropped; and

transmit the first, second and third messages to at least one processor unit of the plurality of processing nodes.

9. The fabric controller of claim 8, wherein the fabric controller further:

determines at least one of;

that a fourth message of the plurality of messages is not associated with a higher priority than a priority associated the second message; and

that a second amount of time has not transpired that exceeds a second expiration of associated with the second message; and

drops the fourth message in response to determining at least one of;

that the fourth message of the plurality of messages is not associated with the higher priority than the priority associated the second message and that the second amount of time has not transpired that exceeds the second expiration of associated with the second message.

10. The fabric controller of claim 9, wherein the fabric controller further:

in response to dropping the fourth message, provides, to a processing node of the plurality of processing nodes that provided the fourth message, a drop message that indicates that the third message was dropped.

11. The fabric controller of claim 9, wherein the fabric controller further:

in response to dropping the third message, stores, in a second buffer, a drop message that indicates that the fourth message was dropped.

12. The fabric controller of claim 8, wherein the fabric controller further:

detects that the first buffer, storing at least the first message and the second message, is at a capacity;

wherein the fabric controller performs the determining in response to detecting that the buffer is at the capacity.

13. The fabric controller of claim 8, wherein the data processing system includes a symmetric multiprocessor system.

15. The fabric controller of claim 8, wherein the determination further includes a determination that the third message of the plurality of messages is associated with a higher priority than a priority associated the first message.