Technique for reducing voltage droop by throttling instruction issue rate
US10241798B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 20, 2013 |
| Grant date | Mar 26, 2019 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 4, 2035 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F9/3836
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An issue control unit is configured to control the rate at which an instruction issue unit issues instructions to an execution pipeline in order to avoid spikes in power drawn by that execution pipeline. The issue control unit maintains a history buffer that reflects, for N previous cycles, the number of instructions issued during each of those N cycles. If the total number of instructions issued during the N previous cycles exceeds a threshold value, then the issue control unit throttles the instruction issue unit from issuing instructions during a subsequent cycle. In addition, the issue control unit increases the threshold value in proportion to the number of previously issued instructions and based on a variety of configurable parameters. Accordingly, the issue control unit maintains granular control over the rate with which the instruction issue unit “ramps up” to a maximum instruction issue rate.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.