System and method for load balancing in out-of-order clustered decoding
US10331454B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 29, 2016 |
| Grant date | Jun 25, 2019 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 2, 2037 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F9/3836
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A processor includes a back end to execute decoded instructions and a front end. The front end includes two decode clusters and circuitry to receive data elements representing undecoded instructions, in program order, and to direct subsets of the data elements to the decode clusters. An IP generator directs one subset of data elements to the first cluster, detects a condition indicating that a load balancing action should be taken, and directs a subset of data elements immediately following the first subset in program order to the first or second decode cluster dependent on the action taken. The action may include annotating a BTB entry, inserting a fake branch in the BTB, forcing a cluster switch, or suppressing a cluster switch. The detected condition may be a predicated taken branch or an annotation thereof, or a heuristic based on a queue state, a count of uops, or a latency value.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.