Abstract: A load request to restore a plurality of architected registers is obtained. Based on obtaining the load request, one or more architected registers of the plurality of architected registers are restored. The restoring uses a snapshot that maps architected registers to physical registers to replace one or more physical registers currently assigned to the one or more architected registers with one or more physical registers of the snapshot corresponding to the one or more architected registers.

Abstract: An arbiter that performs accelerated arbitration by approximating relative ages including a memory, blur logic, and grant logic. Multiple entries arbitrate for one or more resources. The memory stores age values each providing a relative age between each pair of entries, and further stores blurred age values. The entries are divided into subsets in which each entry belongs to only one subset. The blur logic determines each blurred age value to indicate a relative age between an entry of a first subset and an entry of a different subset for each pair of subsets. The grant logic grants access by an entry to a resource based on relative age using corresponding age values when comparing relative age between entries within a common subset, and using corresponding blurred age values when comparing relative age between entries in different subsets. Each blurred age value represents multiple age values to simplify arbitration.

Abstract: A technique for processing IO (Input/Output) requests includes executing a first set of instructions for processing an IO request using a first thread on a CPU core and providing the first thread with an option, based on how busy the CPU core is, either (i) to execute a second set of instructions for further processing the IO request itself or (ii) to pass the IO request to a second thread on the CPU core, such that the second thread executes the second set of instructions instead of the first thread.

Abstract: A delay facility is provided in which program execution may be delayed until a predefined event occurs, such as a comparison of memory locations results in a true condition, a timeout is reached, an interruption is made pending or another condition exists. The delay facility includes one or more compare and delay machine instructions used to delay execution. The one or more compare and delay instructions may include a 32-bit compare and delay (CAD) instruction and a 64-bit compare and delay (CADG) instruction.

Abstract: A method and circuit arrangement provide support for a hybrid pipeline that dynamically switches between out-of-order and in-order modes. The hybrid pipeline may selectively execute instructions from at least one instruction stream that require the high performance capabilities provided by out-of-order processing in the out-of-order mode. The hybrid pipeline may also execute instructions that have strict power requirements in the in-order mode where the in-order mode conserves more power compared to the out-of-order mode. Each stage in the hybrid pipeline may be activated and fully functional when the hybrid pipeline is in the out-of-order mode. However, stages in the hybrid pipeline not used for the in-order mode may be deactivated and bypassed by the instructions when the hybrid pipeline dynamically switches from the out-of-order mode to the in-order mode. The deactivated stages may then be reactivated when the hybrid pipeline dynamically switches from the in-order mode to the out-of-order mode.

Abstract: An arithmetic circuit performs a floating-point operation. A floating-point register includes entries each allocated to an architectural register or a renaming register. An operation execution controller circuit issues a floating-point operation instruction and outputs a termination report of the floating-point operation before the floating-point operation is terminated. When exception handling is not performed at the time of instruction completion even when an exception is detected in the operation of the floating-point operation instruction, an instruction completion controller circuit outputs a release instruction that indicates a release of a renaming register when instruction execution is completed after the termination report is received.

Abstract: A system and method for random access augmented flow-based processing within an integrated circuit includes computing, by a plurality of distinct processing cores, a plurality of linear indices and associated valid bits; propagating the plurality of linear indices in a predetermined manner to a plurality of columns of first-in, first-out buffers; loading, from the FIFO buffers, the plurality of linear indices to a content addressable memory; at the CAM: coalescing redundant linear indices in each of the plurality of FIFO buffers; performing lookups for a plurality of memory addresses based on the plurality of linear indices; collecting at a read data buffer a plurality of distinct pieces of data from one of an on-chip memory based on the plurality of memory addresses; reading the plurality of distinct pieces of data from the read data buffer; and propagating the plurality of distinct pieces of data into the processing cores.

Abstract: A streaming multiprocessor (SM) includes a nanosleep (NS) unit configured to cause individual threads executing on the SM to sleep for a programmer-specified interval of time. For a given thread, the NS unit parses a NANOSLEEP instruction and extracts a sleep time. The NS unit then maps the sleep time to a single bit of a timer and causes the thread to sleep. When the timer bit changes, the sleep time expires, and the NS unit awakens the thread. The thread may then continue executing. The SM also includes a nanotrap (NT) unit configured to issue traps using a similar timing mechanism to that described above. For a given thread, the NT unit parses a NANOTRAP instruction and extracts a trap time. The NT unit then maps the trap time to a single bit of a timer. When the timer bit changes, the NT unit issues a trap.

Abstract: An apparatus comprises a branch target buffer (BTB) to store predicted target addresses of branch instructions. In response to a fetch block address identifying a fetch block comprising two or more program instructions, the BTB performs a lookup to identify whether it stores one or more predicted target addresses for one or more branch instructions in the fetch block. When the BTB is identified in the lookup as storing predicted target addresses for more than one branch instruction in said fetch block, branch target selecting circuitry selects a next fetch block address from among the multiple predicted target addresses returned in the lookup. A shortcut path bypassing the branch target selecting circuitry is provided to forward a predicted target address identified in the lookup as the next fetch block address when a predetermined condition is satisfied.

Abstract: A microprocessor implemented method of speculatively maintaining a guest return address stack (GRAS) in a fetch stage of a microprocessor pipeline. The method includes mapping instructions in a guest address space to corresponding instructions in a native address space. For each of one or more function calls made in the native address space, performing the following: (a) pushing a current entry into the GRAS responsive to the function call, where the current entry includes a guest target return address and a corresponding native target return address associated with the function call; (b) popping the current entry from the GRAS responsive to processing a return instruction; (c) comparing the current entry with an entry popped from a return address stack (RAS) maintained at a later stage of the pipeline; and (d) responsive to a mismatch, fetching instructions from the return address in the entry popped from the RAS.

Abstract: An integrated circuit device has a first central processing unit including a digital signal processing (DSP) engine, and a plurality of contexts, each context having a CPU context with a plurality of registers and a DSP context, wherein the DSP context has control bits and a plurality of DSP registers, wherein after a reset of the integrated circuit device the control bits of all DSP context are linked together such that data written to the control bits of a DSP context is written to respective control bits of all other DSP contexts and only after a context switch to another context and a modification of at least one of the control bits of the another DSP context, the control bits of the another context is severed from the link to form independent control bits of the DSP context.

Abstract: Aspects of the invention include tracking dependencies between instructions in an issue queue. The tracking includes, for each instruction in the issue queue, tracking a specific dependency on each of a threshold number of instructions most recently added to the issue queue prior to the instruction, tracking as a single group a dependency of the instruction on any instructions in the issue queue that are not in the threshold number of instructions, and tracking for each source register used by the instruction an indicator of whether its content is dependent on results from an instruction in the single group that has not finished execution. Based at least in part on detecting removal from the issue queue of an instruction in the single group that has issued and not finished execution, the method includes indicating that the instruction is ready for issuance or waiting for a notification that the removed instruction has finished execution.

Abstract: In one example, a system for generating vector based selection control statements can include a processor to determine a vector cost of the selection control statement is below a scalar cost and determine the selection control statement is to be executed in a sorted order based on dependencies between branch instructions of the selection control statement. The processor can also determine a program ordering of labels of the selection control statement does not match a mathematical ordering of the labels and execute the selection control statement with a vector of values, wherein the selection control statement is to be executed based on a jump table and a sorted unique value technique, wherein the sorted unique value technique comprises selecting at least one of the plurality of branch instructions from the jump table.

Abstract: Systems and methods for executing an augmented program instruction are described. An example method may include a central processing unit receiving an executable program instruction. The central processing unit determines that the executable program instruction is an augmented program instruction. The augmented program instruction may include operands that provide input for an operation to be performed and an additional operand specifying a validation permission value to be compared to a permission value associated with a page table entry referenced by the augmented program instruction. Upon determining that the validation permission value specified in the augmented program instruction matches the permission value associated with the page table entry referenced by the augmented program instruction, the central processing unit performing the operation specified by the augmented program instruction.

Abstract: A processor includes a front end including circuitry to decode an instruction from an instruction stream and a core including circuitry to process the instruction. The core includes an execution pipeline, a dynamic core frequency logic unit, and a counter compensation logic unit. The execution pipeline includes circuitry to execute the instruction. The dynamic core frequency logic unit includes circuitry to squash a clock of the core to reduce a core frequency. The clock may not be visible to software. The counter compensation logic unit includes circuitry to adjust a performance counter increment associated with a performance counter based on at least the dynamic core frequency logic unit circuitry to squash a clock of the core to reduce a core frequency.

Abstract: A vector friendly instruction format and execution thereof. According to one embodiment of the invention, a processor is configured to execute an instruction set. The instruction set includes a vector friendly instruction format. The vector friendly instruction format has a plurality of fields including a base operation field, a modifier field, an augmentation operation field, and a data element width field, wherein the first instruction format supports different versions of base operations and different augmentation operations through placement of different values in the base operation field, the modifier field, the alpha field, the beta field, and the data element width field, and wherein only one of the different values may be placed in each of the base operation field, the modifier field, the alpha field, the beta field, and the data element width field on each occurrence of an instruction in the first instruction format in instruction streams.

Abstract: An apparatus 2 has instruction fusing circuitry 50 for fusing two or more instructions fetched from a data store to generate a fused instruction to be processed by processing circuitry 14. A move prefix instruction is provided which indicates to the instruction fusing circuitry 50 that the move prefix instruction can be fused with an immediately following data processing instruction without needing to compare registers specified by the move prefix instruction and the immediately following instruction. This enables the instruction fusing circuitry 50 to be implemented with reduced hardware and energy cost.

Abstract: Systems, apparatuses and methods may provide for associating a first instruction pointer with an IF block of a primary IF-ELSE conditional construct associated with a thread and activating a second instruction pointer in response to a dependency associated with the IF block. Additionally, the second instruction pointer may be associated with an ELSE block of the primary IF-ELSE conditional construct. In one example, the IF block and the ELSE block are executed, via the first instruction pointer and the second instruction pointer, one or more of independently from or parallel to one another.

Abstract: A method includes a computer device receiving a branch instruction; the computer device managing two tables, where a first table relates to application blocks and a second table relates to available address slots; and the computer device calculating a target of the branch instruction using a branch-to-link register, the computer device optimizes re-wiring in a cache using the calculation and the managed two tables.

Abstract: There is provided an apparatus comprising processing circuitry to execute a transaction comprising a number of program instructions that execute to generate updates to state data, to commit the updates if the transaction completes without a conflict, and to generate trace control signals during execution of the number of program instructions. The processing circuitry uses at least one resource during execution of the program instructions. Transaction trace circuitry generates trace items in response to the trace control signals. In response to the trace control signals indicating that a change in a usage level of the at least one resource has occurred during execution of the program instructions, the transaction trace circuitry generates at least one trace item that indicates the usage level of the at least one resource.