Abstract: A data processing apparatus is provided. Instruction send circuitry sends an instruction to an external processor to be executed by the external processor. Allocation circuitry allocates a specified one of several registers for a result of the instruction having been executed on the external processor and data receive circuitry receives the result of the instruction having been executed on the external processor and stores the result in the specified one of the several registers. In response to a condition being met: the specified one of the several registers is dereserved prior to the result being received by the data receive circuitry, and the result is discarded by the data receive circuitry when the result is received by the data receive circuitry.

Abstract: A data processing apparatus is provided. Instruction send circuitry sends an instruction to an external processor to be executed by the external processor. Allocation circuitry allocates a specified one of several registers for a result of the instruction having been executed on the external processor and data receive circuitry receives the result of the instruction having been executed on the external processor and stores the result in the specified one of the several registers. In response to a condition being met: the specified one of the several registers is dereserved prior to the result being received by the data receive circuitry, and the result is discarded by the data receive circuitry when the result is received by the data receive circuitry.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are provided for processing instructions. The apparatus has execution circuitry for executing instructions, where each instruction requires an associated operation to be performed using one or more source operand values in order to produce a result value. Issue circuitry is used to maintain a record of pending instructions awaiting execution by the execution circuitry, and prediction circuitry is used to produce a predicted source operand value for a chosen pending instruction. Optimisation circuitry is then arranged to detect an optimisation condition for the chosen pending instruction when the predicted source operand value is such that, having regard to the associated operation for the chosen pending instruction, the result value is known without performing the associated operation.

Abstract: In response to a single-copy-atomic load/store instruction for requesting an atomic transfer of a target block of data between the memory system and the registers, where the target block has a given size greater than a maximum data size supported for a single load/store micro-operation by a load/store data path, instruction decoding circuitry maps the single-copy-atomic load/store instruction to two or more mapped load/store micro-operations each for requesting transfer of a respective portion of the target block of data. In response to the mapped load/store micro-operations, load/store circuitry triggers issuing of a shared memory access request to the memory system to request the atomic transfer of the target block of data of said given size to or from the memory system, and triggers separate transfers of respective portions of the target block of data over the load/store data path.

Abstract: Apparatuses and methods relating to controlling cache evictions are disclosed. Processing circuitry which execute instructions out-of-order is provided with a private cache into which blocks of data are copied from a shared storage location to which the processing circuitry shares access. The processing circuitry also has a read-after-read buffer, into which an entry is allocated when out-of-order execution of a load instruction occurs comprising an address accessed by the load instruction. The address remains as a valid entry in the read-after-read buffer until the load instruction is committed. Eviction of an eviction candidate block of data from the private cache to the shared storage location is controlled in dependence on whether the eviction candidate block of data has a corresponding valid entry in the read-after-read buffer.

Abstract: Circuitry comprises a memory system to store data items; cache memory storage to store a copy of one or more data items, the cache memory storage comprising a hierarchy of two or more cache levels; detector circuitry to detect at least a property of data items for storage by the cache memory storage; and control circuitry to control eviction, from a given cache level, of a data item stored by the given cache level, the control circuitry being configured to select a destination to store a data item evicted from the given cache level in response to a detection by the detector circuitry.

Abstract: Circuitry comprises a translation lookaside buffer to store memory address translations, each memory address translation being between an input memory address range defining a contiguous range of one or more input memory addresses in an input memory address space and a translated output memory address range defining a contiguous range of one or more output memory addresses in an output memory address space; in which the translation lookaside buffer is configured selectively to store the memory address translations as a cluster of memory address translations, a cluster defining memory address translations in respect of a contiguous set of input memory address ranges by encoding one or more memory address offsets relative to a respective base memory address; memory management circuitry to retrieve data representing memory address translations from a memory, for storage by the translation lookaside buffer, when a required memory address translation is not stored by the translation lookaside buffer; detector circ

Abstract: Circuitry comprises a translation lookaside buffer to store memory address translations, each memory address translation being between an input memory address range defining a contiguous range of one or more input memory addresses in an input memory address space and a translated output memory address range defining a contiguous range of one or more output memory addresses in an output memory address space; in which the translation lookaside buffer is configured selectively to store the memory address translations as a cluster of memory address translations, a cluster defining memory address translations in respect of a contiguous set of input memory address ranges by encoding one or more memory address offsets relative to a respective base memory address; memory management circuitry to retrieve data representing memory address translations from a memory, for storage by the translation lookaside buffer, when a required memory address translation is not stored by the translation lookaside buffer; detector circ

Abstract: In response to a single-copy-atomic load/store instruction for requesting an atomic transfer of a target block of data between the memory system and the registers, where the target block has a given size greater than a maximum data size supported for a single load/store micro-operation by a load/store data path, instruction decoding circuitry maps the single-copy-atomic load/store instruction to two or more mapped load/store micro-operations each for requesting transfer of a respective portion of the target block of data. In response to the mapped load/store micro-operations, load/store circuitry triggers issuing of a shared memory access request to the memory system to request the atomic transfer of the target block of data of said given size to or from the memory system, and triggers separate transfers of respective portions of the target block of data over the load/store data path.

Abstract: Apparatuses and methods are disclosed for performing data processing operations in main processing circuitry and delegating certain tasks to auxiliary processing circuitry. User-specified instructions executed by the main processing circuitry comprise a task dispatch specification specifying an indication of the auxiliary processing circuitry and multiple data words defining a delegated task comprising at least one virtual address indicator. In response to the task dispatch specification the main processing circuitry performs virtual-to-physical address translation with respect to the at least one virtual address indicator to derive at least one physical address indicator, and issues a task dispatch memory write transaction to the auxiliary processing circuitry comprises the indication of the auxiliary processing circuitry and the multiple data words, wherein the at least one virtual address indicator in the multiple data words is substituted by the at least one physical address indicator.

Abstract: An apparatus comprises processing circuitry 14 to perform data processing in response to instructions, the processing circuitry supporting speculative processing of read operations for reading data from a memory system 20, 22; and control circuitry 12, 14, 20 to identify whether a sequence of instructions to be processed by the processing circuitry includes a speculative side-channel hint instruction indicative of whether there is a risk of information leakage if at least one subsequent read operation is processed speculatively, and to determine whether to trigger a speculative side-channel mitigation measure depending on whether the instructions include the speculative side-channel hint instruction. This can help to reduce the performance impact of measures taken to protect against speculative side-channel attacks.

Abstract: Apparatuses and methods are disclosed for performing data processing operations in main processing circuitry and delegating certain tasks to auxiliary processing circuitry. User-specified instructions executed by the main processing circuitry comprise a task dispatch specification specifying an indication of the auxiliary processing circuitry and multiple data words defining a delegated task comprising at least one virtual address indicator. In response to the task dispatch specification the main processing circuitry performs virtual-to-physical address translation with respect to the at least one virtual address indicator to derive at least one physical address indicator, and issues a task dispatch memory write transaction to the auxiliary processing circuitry comprises the indication of the auxiliary processing circuitry and the multiple data words, wherein the at least one virtual address indicator in the multiple data words is substituted by the at least one physical address indicator.

Abstract: An apparatus and method of operating a data processing apparatus are disclosed. The apparatus comprises data processing circuitry to perform data processing operations in response to a sequence of instructions, wherein the data processing circuitry is capable of performing speculative execution of at least some of the sequence of instructions. A cache structure comprising entries stores temporary copies of data items which are subjected to the data processing operations and speculative execution tracking circuitry monitors correctness of the speculative execution and responsive to indication of incorrect speculative execution to cause entries in the cache structure allocated by the incorrect speculative execution to be evicted from the cache structure.

Abstract: Examples of the present disclosure relate to an apparatus comprising execution circuitry to execute instructions defining data processing operations on data items. The apparatus comprises cache storage to store temporary copies of the data items. The apparatus comprises prefetching circuitry to a) predict that a data item will be subject to the data processing operations by the execution circuitry by determining that the data item is consistent with an extrapolation of previous data item retrieval by the execution circuitry, and identifying that at least one control flow element of the instructions indicates that the data item will be subject to the data processing operations by the execution circuitry; and b) prefetch the data item into the cache storage.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are provided for controlling allocation of instructions into an instruction cache storage. The apparatus comprises processing circuitry to execute instructions, fetch circuitry to fetch instructions from memory for execution by the processing circuitry, and an instruction cache storage to store instructions fetched from the memory by the fetch circuitry. Cache control circuitry is responsive to the fetch circuitry fetching a target instruction from a memory address determined as a target address of an instruction flow changing instruction, at least when the memory address is within a specific address range, to prevent allocation of the fetched target instruction into the instruction cache storage unless the fetched target instruction is at least one specific type of instruction. It has been found that such an approach can inhibit the performance of speculation-based caching timing side-channel attacks.

Abstract: Coherency control circuitry (10) supports processing of a safe-speculative-read transaction received from a requesting master device (4). The safe-speculative-read transaction is of a type requesting that target data is returned to a requesting cache (11) of the requesting master device (4) while prohibiting any change in coherency state associated with the target data in other caches (12) in response to the safe-speculative-read transaction. In response, at least when the target data is cached in a second cache associated with a second master device, at least one of the coherency control circuitry (10) and the second cache (12) is configured to return a safe-speculative-read response while maintaining the target data in the same coherency state within the second cache. This helps to mitigate against speculative side-channel attacks.

Abstract: A data processing apparatus is provided which controls the use of data in respect of a further operation. The data processing apparatus identifies whether data is trusted or untrusted by identifying whether or not the data was determined by a speculatively executed resolve-pending operation. A permission control unit is also provided to control how the data can be used in respect of a further operation according to a security policy while the speculatively executed operation is still resolve-pending.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are provided for handling prediction information. The apparatus has processing circuitry for performing data processing operations in response to instructions, the processing circuitry comprising transactional memory support circuitry to support execution of a transaction comprising a sequence of instructions. Prediction circuitry is used to generate predictions in relation to instruction flow changing instructions, and prediction storage is provided to store a plurality of items of prediction information that are referenced by the prediction circuitry when generating the predictions. The items of prediction information maintained by the prediction storage change based on the instructions being executed by the processing circuitry. A recovery storage is activated by the transactional memory support circuitry at a transaction start point to store a restore pointer identifying a chosen location in the prediction storage.

Abstract: A tag check performed for a memory access operation comprises determining whether an address tag associated with a target address of the access corresponds to a guard tag stored in the memory system associated with a memory system location to be accessed. A given tag check architecturally required for a tag-checked load operation can be skipped when a number of tag-check-skip conditions are satisfied, including at least: that there is an older tag-checked store operation awaiting a pending tag check, for which a guard tag checked in the pending tag check is associated with a same block of one or more memory system locations as a guard tag to be checked in the given tag check; and that the address tag for the tag-checked load operation is the same as the address tag for the older tag-checked store operation.

Abstract: Data processing apparatus comprises a processing element configured to access an architectural register representing a given system register; mapping circuitry to map the architectural register representing the given system register to a physical register selected from a set of physical registers; a register bank having a set of two or more respective banked versions of the given system register, in which a respective one of the banked versions of the system register is associated with each of a plurality of current operating states of the processing element; in which, when the processing element changes operating state from a first operating state associated with a first one of the banked versions of the system register to a second operating state associated with a second, different, one of the banked versions of the system register, the processing element is configured to store the current contents of the architectural register representing the given system register to the first one of the banked versions o