Abstract: An apparatus is described that includes an execution unit having a multiply add computation unit, a first ALU logic unit and a second ALU logic unit. The ALU unit is to perform first, second, third and fourth instructions. The first instruction is a multiply add instruction. The second instruction is to perform parallel ALU operations with the first and second ALU logic units operating simultaneously to produce different respective output resultants of the second instruction. The third instruction is to perform sequential ALU operations with one of the ALU logic units operating from an output of the other of the ALU logic units to determine an output resultant of the third instruction. The fourth instruction is to perform an iterative divide operation in which the first ALU logic unit and the second ALU logic unit operate during to determine first and second division resultant digit values.

Abstract: According to some embodiments, the workgroup divisibility requirement may be dispensed with on a selective or permanent basis, i.e. in all cases, particular cases or at particular times and/or under particular conditions. An application programming interface implementation may be allowed to launch workgroups with non-uniform local sizes. Two different local sizes may be used in a case of a one-dimensional workload.

Abstract: Provided are a computer program product, system, and method for determining processor offsets to synchronize processor time values. A determination is made of a master processor offset from one of a plurality of time values of the master processor and a time value of one of the slave processors. A determination is made of slave processor offsets, wherein each slave processor offset is determined from the master processor offset, one of the time values of the master processor, and a time value of the slave processor. A current time value of the master processor is adjusted by the master processor offset. A current time value of each of the slave processors is adjusted by the slave processor offset for the slave processor whose time value is being adjusted.

Abstract: A method and device for memory access in processors is provided. A processor, comprising a plurality of computational units, is capable of executing a single instruction on multiple pieces of data simultaneously (SIMD). A read operation is initiated to load data from memory into the plurality of computational units (CUs) arranged into a plurality of CU groups. The memory is arranged into a plurality of memory macro-blocks each associated with a respective CU group of the plurality of CU groups. For each CU group a respective first memory address is determined and for each CU group, the data in the associated memory macro-block is accessed at the respective first memory address.

Abstract: The system monitors a wireless device, detects when the device has failed or is not operating properly, and is able to remotely reset the device. The device may be reset remotely without a technician required to physically attend to the device. This out of band management allows for quicker, cheaper and more efficient handling of undesired states of a device, such as failure to operate. For a modem, the system may detect that the modem is not broadcasting a signal or is not communicating with the Internet or other network. The reset may be implemented through an access point in communication with the malfunctioning modem. For an access point, the system may detect that the access point is not communicating with a modem or another access point. The reset may be implemented by a neighboring access point or modem.

Abstract: A microprocessor includes an instruction translation unit that extracts condition information from the IT instruction and fuses the IT instruction with the first IT block instruction. For each instruction of the IT block, the instruction translation unit: determines a respective condition for the IT block instruction using the condition information extracted from the IT instruction and translates the IT block instruction into a microinstruction. The microinstruction includes the respective condition. Execution units conditionally execute the microinstruction based on the respective condition. For each IT block instruction, the instruction translation unit determines a respective state value using the extracted condition information. The state value comprises the lower eight bits of the IT instruction having the lower five bits left-shifted by N-1 bits, where N indicates a position of the IT block instruction in the IT block.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are described for performing efficient gather operations in a pipelined processor. For example, a processor according to one embodiment of the invention comprises: gather setup logic to execute one or more gather setup operations in anticipation of one or more gather operations, the gather setup operations to determine one or more addresses of vector data elements to be gathered by the gather operations; and gather logic to execute the one or more gather operations to gather the vector data elements using the one or more addresses determined by the gather setup operations.

Abstract: Techniques are described for metadata processing that can be used to encode an arbitrary number of security policies for code running on a processor. Metadata may be added to every word in the system and a metadata processing unit may be used that works in parallel with data flow to enforce an arbitrary set of policies. In one aspect, the metadata may be characterized as unbounded and software programmable to be applicable to a wide range of metadata processing policies. Techniques and policies have a wide range of uses including, for example, safety, security, and synchronization. Additionally, described are aspects and techniques in connection with metadata processing in an embodiment based on the RISC-V architecture.

Abstract: Processors may be tested according to various implementations. In one general implementation, a process for processor testing may include randomly generating a first plurality of branch instructions for a first portion of an instruction set, each branch instruction in the first portion branching to a respective instruction in a second portion of the instruction set. The process may also include randomly generating a second plurality of branch instructions for the second portion of the instruction set, each branch instruction in the second portion branching to a respective instruction in the first portion of the instruction set. The process may additionally include generating a plurality of instructions to increment a counter when each branch instruction is encountered during execution.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and apparatuses for data speculation execution (DSX) are described. In some embodiments, a hardware apparatus for performing DSX comprises a hardware decoder to decode an instruction, the instruction to include an opcode and an operand to store a portion of a fallback address and an operand to store a stride value, execution hardware to execute the decoded instruction to initiate a data speculative execution (DSX) region by activating DSX tracking hardware to track speculative memory accesses and detect ordering violations in the DSX region, and storing the fallback address.

Abstract: A method for executing instructions using a plurality of virtual cores for a processor. The method includes receiving an incoming instruction sequence using a global front end scheduler, and partitioning the incoming instruction sequence into a plurality of code blocks of instructions. The method further includes generating a plurality of inheritance vectors describing interdependencies between instructions of the code blocks, and allocating the code blocks to a plurality of virtual cores of the processor, wherein each virtual core comprises a respective subset of resources of a plurality of partitionable engines. The code blocks are executed by using the partitionable engines in accordance with a virtual core mode and in accordance with the respective inheritance vectors.

Abstract: A data processing system supports vector operands with components representing different bit significance portions of an integer number. Processing circuitry performs a processing operation specified by a program instruction in dependence upon a number of components comprising the vector as specified by metadata for the vector.

Abstract: Embodiments include methods, computer systems and computer program products for performing superscalar out-of-order processing in software in a computer system. Aspects include: loading opcodes into an analysis thread of the computer system, analyzing opcodes to identify certain non-independent opcode snippets, distributing non-independent opcode snippets to separate threads of computer system, instructing each of separate threads to execute each of non-independent opcode snippets, respectively, and collecting results of executions of each of separate threads by a consolidation thread.

Abstract: The speed of task scheduling by a multitask OS is increased. A task processor includes a CPU, a save circuit, and a task control circuit. The CPU is provided with a processing register and an execution control circuit operative to load data from a memory into a processing register and execute a task in accordance with the data in the processing register. The save circuit is provided with a plurality of save registers respectively associated with a plurality of tasks. In executing a predetermined system call, the execution control circuit notifies the task control circuit as such. The task control circuit switches between tasks for execution upon receipt of the system call signal, by saving, in the save register associated with a task being executed, the data in the processing register, selecting a task to be executed next, and loading data in the save register associated with the selected task into the processing register.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are provided for optimizing a processor core. Common processor subcircuitry is used to perform calculations for various types of instructions, including branch and non-branch instructions. Increasing the commonality of calculations across different instruction types allows branch instructions to jump to byte aligned memory address even if supported instructions are multi-byte or word aligned.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus includes a packet preprocessing unit configured to generate a packet process request when a packet is received; a CPU core configured to process the packet in response to the packet process request; a hardware element configured to generate a message including information identifying a predetermined event, in response to the predetermined event occurring in accordance with the processing of the packet, the hardware element being provided in the CPU core; and a message recording unit configured to record the message generated by the hardware element together with a count value of a timer.

Abstract: The invention is a method and system for providing trace data in a pipelined data processor. Aspects of the invention include providing a trace pipeline in parallel to the execution pipeline, providing trace information on whether conditional instructions complete or not, providing trace information on the interrupt status of the processor, replacing instructions in the processor with functionally equivalent instructions that also produce trace information and modifying the scheduling of instructions in the processor based on the occupancy of a trace output buffer.

Abstract: Execution of a transaction may be initiated by a CPU in a transactional execution (TX) environment. A set of TX performance characteristics of the transaction during the transactional execution may be collected and stored in a location specified by an instruction of the transaction when the transactional execution ends or aborts.

Abstract: Execution of a transaction may be initiated by a CPU in a transactional execution (TX) environment. A set of TX performance characteristics of the transaction during the transactional execution may be collected and stored in a location specified by an instruction of the transaction when the transactional execution ends or aborts.

Abstract: Embodiments relate to variable branch prediction. An aspect includes determining a branch selection of an execution unit of a processor and determining whether a present prediction state of the state machine correctly predicted the branch selection by the execution unit. The aspect includes determining whether a predetermined condition is met for performing an alternative state transition and, based on determining that the predetermined condition is met, changing the present prediction state of the branch prediction state machine from the one state to another state according to an alternative state transition process based on the branch selection of the execution unit and the determination whether the present prediction state of the state machine correctly predicted the branch selection by the execution unit.