Saving and restoring branch prediction state
US10838730B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 26, 2018 |
| Grant date | Nov 17, 2020 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 1, 2038 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F9/3848
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A branch predictor is provided with a branch state buffer, branch prediction save circuitry responsive to a branch prediction save event associated with a given execution context to save at least a portion of the active branch prediction state associated with the given execution context to a branch state buffer; and branch prediction restore circuitry responsive to a branch prediction restore event associated with the given execution context to restore active branch prediction state based on previously saved branch prediction state stored in the branch state buffer for the given execution context. This is useful for reducing the performance impact of mitigating against speculative side-channel attacks.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.