Coherency overcommit

• US 9,367,505 B2
• Filed: 06/23/2014
• 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:
  US14/311,499
• Publication Number:
  US 20150178205A1
• Time in Patent Office: 722 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 method of data processing in a data processing system that includes an interconnect and a plurality of processing nodes coupled to the interconnect, the method comprising:

a fabric controller receiving, via the interconnect, a plurality of messages from the plurality of processing nodes;

in response to receiving the plurality of messages via the interconnect, the fabric controller;

storing, 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;

determining 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 determining;

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

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

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

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the determining is a first determining;

the method further comprises;

second determining 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

dropping the fourth message in response to the second determining.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

in response to said dropping the fourth message, providing, to the interconnect, a drop message that indicates that the fourth message was dropped.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

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

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

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

wherein the determining is performed in response to said detecting that the buffer is at the capacity.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the interconnect includes an interconnect fabric.

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

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining further includes determining that a third message of the plurality of messages is associated with a higher priority than a priority associated the first message.