Patents by Inventor Erik G. Hallnor

Erik G. Hallnor has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 10705961
    Abstract: A processor includes a cache-side address monitor unit corresponding to a first cache portion of a distributed cache that has a total number of cache-side address monitor storage locations less than a total number of logical processors of the processor. Each cache-side address monitor storage location is to store an address to be monitored. A core-side address monitor unit corresponds to a first core and has a same number of core-side address monitor storage locations as a number of logical processors of the first core. Each core-side address monitor storage location is to store an address, and a monitor state for a different corresponding logical processor of the first core. A cache-side address monitor storage overflow unit corresponds to the first cache portion, and is to enforce an address monitor storage overflow policy when no unused cache-side address monitor storage location is available to store an address to be monitored.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2020
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Yen-Cheng Liu, Bahaa Fahim, Erik G. Hallnor, Jeffrey D. Chamberlain, Stephen R. Van Doren, Antonio Juan
  • Patent number: 9954792
    Abstract: Traffic control logic is provided to support a plurality of channels on a link. A plurality of reserved credit counters is provided to each identify reserved flow control credits for a corresponding one of the plurality of channels. Further, a shared credit counter is provided to identify shared flow control credits to be shared between two or more of the plurality of virtual channels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2018
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Kevin B. Theobald, Rupin H. Vakharwala, Robert J. Toepfer, Erik G. Hallnor, Robert P. Adler
  • Patent number: 9785223
    Abstract: In an example, a shared uncore memory fabric of a system-on-a-chip (SoC) is configured to provide real-time power management. The SoC may include a power management agent to inform the shared fabric that the processing cores and peripherals will be idle for a time, and to negotiate a power-saving state. The uncore fabric may also include a local power manager that detects when no access requests have been received for a time, such as when cores are operating from cache. The shared fabric may then unilaterally enter a power-saving state, and remain in that state until an access request is received. In the power-saving state, power and/or clocks are gated, and the fabric's state is stored in retention cells. When a new access request is received, an ungated controller may handle preliminary processing while the local power manager restores the state and powers up the shared fabric.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2017
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Ramadass Nagarajan, Jeremy J. Shrall, Erik G. Hallnor, Vinit Mathew Abraham, Ezra N. Harrington
  • Patent number: 9710041
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a processor includes a core to execute instructions and a core perimeter logic coupled to the core. The core perimeter logic may include a fabric interface logic coupled to the core. In turn, the fabric interface logic may include a first storage to store state information of the core when the core is in a low power state, and enable an inter-die interconnect coupled between the core and an uncore to be maintained in an active state during entry of the core into a low power state. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2017
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Alexander Gendler, Larisa Novakovsky, Krishnakanth V. Sistla, Vivek Garg, Dean Mulla, Ashish V. Choubal, Erik G. Hallnor, Kimberly C. Weier
  • Publication number: 20170031412
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a processor includes a core to execute instructions and a core perimeter logic coupled to the core. The core perimeter logic may include a fabric interface logic coupled to the core. In turn, the fabric interface logic may include a first storage to store state information of the core when the core is in a low power state, and enable an inter-die interconnect coupled between the core and an uncore to be maintained in an active state during entry of the core into a low power state. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 29, 2015
    Publication date: February 2, 2017
    Inventors: Alexander Gendler, Larisa Novakovsky, Krishnakanth V. Sistla, Vivek Garg, Dean Mulla, Ashish V. Choubal, Erik G. Hallnor, Kimberly C. Weier
  • Publication number: 20160283232
    Abstract: A processor includes a core and a prefetcher. The prefetcher includes logic to issue a request for data including a requested prefetch. The core includes logic to receive an indication of the request, determine whether the request is for a restricted region of memory, and, based upon whether the request is for the restricted region of memory, allow or deny the request.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 27, 2015
    Publication date: September 29, 2016
    Inventors: Raanan Sade, Ryan L. Carlson, Larisa Novakovsky, Erik G. Hallnor, Ravi Rajwar, Roman Dementiev
  • Publication number: 20160187959
    Abstract: In an example, a shared uncore memory fabric of a system-on-a-chip (SoC) is configured to provide real-time power management. The SoC may include a power management agent to inform the shared fabric that the processing cores and peripherals will be idle for a time, and to negotiate a power-saving state. The uncore fabric may also include a local power manager that detects when no access requests have been received for a time, such as when cores are operating from cache. The shared fabric may then unilaterally enter a power-saving state, and remain in that state until an access request is received. In the power-saving state, power and/or clocks are gated, and the fabric's state is stored in retention cells. When a new access request is received, an ungated controller may handle preliminary processing while the local power manager restores the state and powers up the shared fabric.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 25, 2014
    Publication date: June 30, 2016
    Inventors: Ramadass Nagarajan, Jeremy J. Shrall, Erik G. Hallnor, Vinit Mathew Abraham, Ezra N. Harrington
  • Publication number: 20160188503
    Abstract: In an example, a system on chip (SoC) includes virtual legacy wire (VLW) functionality. The VLW signal virtualizes a physical interrupt existing in legacy systems to enable a peripheral to cause a processor to enter an interrupt handling routine relevant to the peripheral. The VLW interrupt is broadcast to all cores or agents within the SoC. However, to save power, if one or more agents are asleep when the interrupt occurs, the agents are not awakened to receive the interrupt. Rather, the VLW is broadcast with a mask to exclude those agents, and the state of those agents is stored in a register or buffer. Once a power management agent notifies the VLW broadcaster that an agent has newly awakened. The VLW interrupt is then re-broadcast, with a mask that excludes all but the newly-awakened agent.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 25, 2014
    Publication date: June 30, 2016
    Inventor: Erik G. Hallnor
  • Publication number: 20160182391
    Abstract: Traffic control logic is provided to support a plurality of channels on a link. A plurality of reserved credit counters is provided to each identify reserved flow control credits for a corresponding one of the plurality of channels. Further, a shared credit counter is provided to identify shared flow control credits to be shared between two or more of the plurality of virtual channels.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2014
    Publication date: June 23, 2016
    Inventors: Kevin B. Theobald, Rupin H. Vakharwala, Robert J. Toepfer, Erik G. Hallnor, Robert P. Adler
  • Patent number: 9336156
    Abstract: A processing device and method for cache control including tracking updates to the line state of a cache superline are described. In response to a request pertaining to a superline, a cache controller of the processing device can perform one or more read-modify-write (RMW) operations to (a) a line state vector of a line state array and (b) a counter of the line state array. Based on a determination that one or more requests to the superline have completed, the line state vector from the line state array can be written to a tag array. The cache controller can track pending line state updates to a superline outside of the tag array, and a line state update can occur in the cache controller, rather than awaiting completion of all outstanding operations on a superline. Updates to multiple line states can be maintained simultaneously, and up-to-date ECCs computed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2016
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Zhongying Zhang, Erik G. Hallnor, Stanley S. Kulick, Jeffrey L. Miller
  • Publication number: 20150095580
    Abstract: A processor includes a cache-side address monitor unit corresponding to a first cache portion of a distributed cache that has a total number of cache-side address monitor storage locations less than a total number of logical processors of the processor. Each cache-side address monitor storage location is to store an address to be monitored. A core-side address monitor unit corresponds to a first core and has a same number of core-side address monitor storage locations as a number of logical processors of the first core. Each core-side address monitor storage location is to store an address, and a monitor state for a different corresponding logical processor of the first core. A cache-side address monitor storage overflow unit corresponds to the first cache portion, and is to enforce an address monitor storage overflow policy when no unused cache-side address monitor storage location is available to store an address to be monitored.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 27, 2013
    Publication date: April 2, 2015
    Inventors: Yen-Cheng Liu, Bahaa Fahim, Erik G. Hallnor, Jeffrey D. Chamberlain, Stephen R. Van Doren, Antonio Juan
  • Publication number: 20140281251
    Abstract: Technologies for tracking updates to the line state of a cache superline are described. In response to a request pertaining to a superline, one or more read-modify-write (RMW) operations to (a) a line state vector of a line state array and (b) a counter of the line state array can be performed. Based on a determination that one or more requests to the superline have completed, the line state vector from the line state array can be written to a tag array.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 14, 2013
    Publication date: September 18, 2014
    Inventors: Zhongying Zhang, Erik G. Hallnor, Stanley S. Kulick, Jeffrey L. Miller
  • Patent number: 8392657
    Abstract: An apparatus, method, and system are disclosed. In one embodiment the apparatus includes a cache memory, which a number of sets. Each of the sets in the cache memory have several cache lines. The apparatus also includes at least one process resource table. The process resource table maintains a cache line occupancy count of a number of cache lines. Specifically, the cache line occupancy count for each cache line describes the number of cache lines in the cache storing information utilized by a process running on a computer system. Additionally, the process resource table stores the occupancy count of less cache lines than the total number of cache lines in the cache memory.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2013
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Li Zhao, Ravishankar Iyer, Rameshkumar G. Illikkal, Erik G. Hallnor, Martin G. Dixon, Donald K. Newell
  • Patent number: 8316184
    Abstract: Domain-based cache management methods and systems, including domain event based priority demotion (“EPD”). In EPD, priorities of cached data blocks are demoted upon one or more domain events, such as upon encoding of one or more macroblocks of a video frame. New data blocks may be written over lowest priority cached data blocks. New data blocks may initially be assigned a highest priority. Alternatively, or additionally, one or more new data blocks may initially be assigned one of a plurality of higher priorities based on domain-based information, such as a relative position of a requested data block within a video frame, and/or a relative direction associated with a requested data block. Domain-based cache management may be implemented with one or more other cache management techniques, such as least recently used techniques. Domain-based cache management may be implemented in associative caches, including set associative caches and fully associative caches, and may be implemented with indirect indexing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2012
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Zhen Fang, Erik G Hallnor, Nitin B Gupte, Steven Zhang
  • Patent number: 8090967
    Abstract: A proposal for power management control of an interconnect structure based on power state transition control. The power state transition is based on generating early warning signals and an idle timeout value setting based on response time and detection of subsequent requests.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2012
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Erik G. Hallnor, Zhen Fang, Hemant G. Rotithor
  • Publication number: 20110087843
    Abstract: An apparatus, method, and system are disclosed. In one embodiment the apparatus includes a cache memory, which a number of sets. Each of the sets in the cache memory have several cache lines. The apparatus also includes at least one process resource table. The process resource table maintains a cache line occupancy count of a number of cache lines. Specifically, the cache line occupancy count for each cache line describes the number of cache lines in the cache storing information utilized by a process running on a computer system. Additionally, the process resource table stores the occupancy count of less cache lines than the total number of cache lines in the cache memory.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 9, 2009
    Publication date: April 14, 2011
    Inventors: Li Zhao, Ravishankar Iyer, Rameshkumar G. Illikkal, Erik G. Hallnor, Martin G. Dixon, Donald K. Newell
  • Publication number: 20090327611
    Abstract: Domain-based cache management methods and systems, including domain event based priority demotion (“EPD”). In EPD, priorities of cached data blocks are demoted upon one or more domain events, such as upon encoding of one or more macroblocks of a video frame. New data blocks may be written over lowest priority cached data blocks. New data blocks may initially be assigned a highest priority. Alternatively, or additionally, one or more new data blocks may initially be assigned one of a plurality of higher priorities based on domain-based information, such as a relative position of a requested data block within a video frame, and/or a relative direction associated with a requested data block. Domain-based cache management may be implemented with one or more other cache management techniques, such as least recently used techniques. Domain-based cache management may be implemented in associative caches, including set associative caches and fully associative caches, and may be implemented with indirect indexing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 30, 2008
    Publication date: December 31, 2009
    Inventors: Zhen Fang, Erik G. Hallnor, Nitin B. Gupte, Steven Zhang
  • Publication number: 20090292935
    Abstract: A proposal for power management control of an interconnect structure based on power state transition control. The power state transition is based on generating early warning signals and an idle timeout value setting based on response time and detection of subsequent requests.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 23, 2008
    Publication date: November 26, 2009
    Inventors: Erik G. Hallnor, Zhen Fang, Hemant G. Rotithor