Abstract: In an embodiment, a processor for redirecting requests includes a processing engine to execute a guest system, and monitoring circuitry coupled to the processing engine. The monitoring circuitry may be to: receive, from the guest system, a first request to access a first virtual counter; in response to a receipt of the first request, determine, based a mapping register of the processor, a first physical counter mapped to the first virtual counter; and redirect the first request to the first physical counter mapped to the first virtual counter. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Abstract: Examples of support for an instruction allowing for the binding of a platform key to a binary large object (BLOB) are described. In some examples, support is in the form of decoder circuitry to decode an instance of a single instruction, the instance of the single instruction to include an opcode that is to indicate to execution circuitry to perform a binding of information to a platform by encrypting at least a portion of information of an input data structure with a platform-specific wrapping key; and execution circuitry to execute the decoded instance of the single instruction according to the opcode to generate and store an output data structure.

Abstract: Embodiments of systems, methods, and apparatuses for heterogeneous computing are described. In some embodiments, a hardware heterogeneous scheduler dispatches instructions for execution on one or more plurality of heterogeneous processing elements, the instructions corresponding to a code fragment to be processed by the one or more of the plurality of heterogeneous processing elements, wherein the instructions are native instructions to at least one of the one or more of the plurality of heterogeneous processing elements.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a processor comprises: a first configuration register to store a pointer to a process address space identifier (PASID) table; and an execution circuit coupled to the first configuration register. The execution circuit, in response to a first instruction, is to obtain command data from a first location identified in a source operand of the first instruction, obtain a PASID table handle from the command data, access a first entry of the PASID table using the pointer from the first configuration register and the PASID table handle to obtain a PASID value, insert the PASID value into the command data, and send the command data to a device coupled to the processor. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Abstract: A method and system of host to guest (H2G) notification are disclosed. H2G is provided via an instruction. The instruction is a send user inter-processor interrupt instruction. An exemplary processor includes decoder circuitry to decode a single instruction and execute the decoded single instruction according to the at least the opcode to cause a host to guest notification from a virtual device running in a host machine on the first physical processor to a virtual device driver running on a virtual processor in a guest machine on a second physical processor.

Abstract: Techniques for allowing a control and/or status register to be read or written to in a user privilege level are described. An example of an instruction for user privilege read is to include one or more fields for an opcode, one or more fields for a source operand that is to store a control and/or status register address, and one or more fields for a destination register operand, wherein the opcode is to indicate that execution circuitry is to read data from the control and/or status register whose identity is stored in the source operand and write the data in the destination register operand responsive to access to the control and/or status register being allowed, wherein access to the control and/or status register is at least in part determined by data of an operating system controlled data structure indexed by the control and/or status register address.

Abstract: An embodiment of an apparatus comprises decode circuitry to decode a single instruction, the single instruction to include a field for an identifier of a first source operand, a field for an identifier of a destination operand, and a field for an opcode, the opcode to indicate execution circuitry is to program a user timer, and execution circuitry to execute the decoded instruction according to the opcode to retrieve timer program information from a location indicated by the first source operand, and program a user timer indicated by the destination operand based on the retrieved timer program information. Other embodiments are disclosed and claimed.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are described for reduced power TLB management. For example, one embodiment of a processor comprises: a plurality of cores; a first core of the plurality of cores comprising: a first translation lookaside buffer (TLB) to store address translations associated with page table walk operations, and power management logic to cause the first core to enter into a first low power state in which the address translations in the first TLB are no longer valid, wherein prior to entering into the low power state, the first core is to write an indication in a memory location that the first TLB no longer contains valid address translations; a second core of the plurality of cores to perform an operation requiring invalidation of one or more of the address translations previously stored in the first TLB, the second core to determine whether to transmit a request to the first core to invalidate the one or more address translations based on the indication.

Abstract: A processor of an aspect includes a decode unit to decode an aperture access instruction, and an execution unit coupled with the decode unit. The execution unit, in response to the aperture access instruction, is to read a host physical memory address, which is to be associated with an aperture that is to be in system memory, from an access protected structure, and access data within the aperture at a host physical memory address that is not to be obtained through address translation. Other processors are also disclosed, as are methods, systems, and machine-readable medium storing aperture access instructions.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and apparatuses relating to instructions to reset software thread runtime property histories in a hardware processor are described. In one embodiment, a hardware processor includes a hardware guide scheduler comprising a plurality of software thread runtime property histories; a decoder to decode a single instruction into a decoded single instruction, the single instruction having a field that identifies a model-specific register; and an execution circuit to execute the decoded single instruction to check that an enable bit of the model-specific register is set, and when the enable bit is set, to reset the plurality of software thread runtime property histories of the hardware guide scheduler.

Abstract: Techniques to allow use of metadata in unused bits of virtual addresses are described. A processor of an aspect includes a decode circuit to decode a memory access instruction. The instruction to indicate one or more memory address operands that are to have address generation information and metadata. An execution circuit coupled with the decode circuit to generate a 64-bit virtual address based on the one or more memory address operands. The 64-bit virtual address having a bit 63, an X-bit address field starting at a bit 0 to store an address generated from the address generation information, and one or more metadata bits to store the metadata. The execution circuit also to perform a canonicality check on the 64-bit virtual address that does not fail due to non-canonical values of the metadata stored in the one or more metadata bits. Other processors, methods, systems, and instructions are disclosed.

Abstract: Techniques to restrict vector length in a processor are described. A method of an aspect that may be performed by a processor includes executing first instances of vector instructions having respective opcode values regardless of whether they specify wider vectors of a wider vector width or narrower vectors of a narrower vector width, when a control value is a first value. The method also includes executing second instances of vector instructions having the respective opcode values when they specify narrower vectors of the narrower vector width, but do not specify wider vectors of the wider vector width, when the control value is a second different value. The method also includes preventing execution of third instances of vector instructions having the respective opcode values when they specify wider vectors of the wider vector width, when the control value is the second value. Other methods, processors, and systems are disclosed.

Abstract: A processor of an aspect includes a decode unit to decode a user-level suspend thread instruction that is to indicate a first alternate state. The processor also includes an execution unit coupled with the decode unit. The execution unit is to perform the instruction at a user privilege level. The execution unit in response to the instruction, is to: (a) suspend execution of a user-level thread, from which the instruction is to have been received; (b) transition a logical processor, on which the user-level thread was to have been running, to the indicated first alternate state; and (c) resume the execution of the user-level thread, when the logical processor is in the indicated first alternate state, with a latency that is to be less than half a latency that execution of a thread can be resumed when the logical processor is in a halt processor power state.

Abstract: A processor includes a processor core. A register of the core is to store: a bit range for a number of address bits of physical memory addresses used for key identifiers (IDs), and a first key ID to identify a boundary between non-restricted key IDs and restricted key IDs of the key identifiers. A memory controller is to: determine, via access to bit range and the first key ID in the register, a key ID range of the restricted key IDs within the physical memory addresses; access a processor state that a first logical processor of the processor core executes in an untrusted domain mode; receive a memory transaction, from the first logical processor, including an address associated with a second key ID; and generate a fault in response to a determination that the second key ID is within a key ID range of the restricted key IDs.

Abstract: Embodiments of exitless guest to host (G2H) notification are described. In some embodiments, G2H is provided via an instruction. An exemplary processor includes decoder circuitry to decode a single instruction, the single instruction to include a field for an opcode; and execution processing resources to execute the decoded single instruction according to the at least the opcode to cause an exitless guest to host notification from a virtual processor to a physical or virtual processor.

Abstract: A processor includes a decode unit to decode an instruction that is to indicate a page of a protected container memory, and a storage location outside of the protected container memory. An execution unit, in response to the instruction, is to ensure that there are no writable references to the page of the protected container memory while it has a write protected state. The execution unit is to encrypt a copy of the page of the protected container memory. The execution unit is to store the encrypted copy of the page to the storage location outside of the protected container memory, after it has been ensured that there are no writable references. The execution unit is to leave the page of the protected container memory in the write protected state, which is also valid and readable, after the encrypted copy has been stored to the storage location.

Abstract: A processor for supporting secure memory intent is disclosed. The processor of the disclosure includes a memory execution unit to access memory and a processor core coupled to the memory execution unit. The processor core is to receive a request to access a convertible page of the memory. In response to the request, the processor core to determine an intent for the convertible page in view of a page table entry (PTE) corresponding to the convertible page. The intent indicates whether the convertible page is to be accessed as at least one of a secure page or a non-secure page.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a method comprises executing an untrusted host virtual machine monitor (VMM) to manage execution of at least one guest virtual machine (VM). The VMM receives an encrypted key domain key, an encrypted guest code image, and an encrypted guest control structure. The VM also issues a create command. In response, a processor creates a first key domain comprising a region of memory to be encrypted by a key domain key. The encrypted key domain key is decrypted to produce the key domain key, which is inaccessible to the VMM. The VMM issues a launch command. In response, a first guest VM is launched within the first key domain. In response to a second launch command, a second guest VM is launched within the first key domain. The second guest VM provides an agent to act on behalf of the VMM. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for switching between different types of paging using separate control registers and without disabling paging. For example, one embodiment of a processor comprises: a first control register to store a first base address of a first paging structure associated with a first type of paging having a first number of paging structure levels; a second control register to store a second base address of a second paging structure associated with a first type of paging having a second number of paging structure levels greater than the first number of paging structure levels; page walk circuitry to select either the first base address from the first control register or the second base address from the second control register responsive to a first address translation request, the selection based on a characteristic of program code initiating the address translation request.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and apparatuses relating to instructions to reset software thread runtime property histories in a hardware processor are described. In one embodiment, a hardware processor includes a hardware guide scheduler comprising a plurality of software thread runtime property histories; a decoder to decode a single instruction into a decoded single instruction, the single instruction having a field that identifies a model-specific register; and an execution circuit to execute the decoded single instruction to check that an enable bit of the model-specific register is set, and when the enable bit is set, to reset the plurality of software thread runtime property histories of the hardware guide scheduler.