Patent · US Expired

Multiprocessing system having coherency-related error logging capabilities

US5862316A · kind A · utility

61Cited by
23References
17Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJul 1, 1996
Grant dateJan 19, 1999
Priority date
Expiry dateJul 1, 2016

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY10S707/99952
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Protocol agents involved in the performance of global coherency activity detect errors with respect to the activity being performed. The errors are logged by a computer system such that diagnostic software may be executed to determine the error detected and to trace the error to the erring software or hardware. In particular, information regarding the first error to be detected is logged. Subsequent errors may receive more or less logging depending upon programmable configuration values. Additionally, those errors which receive full logging may be programmably selected via error masks. The protocol agents each comprise multiple independent state machines which independently process requests. If the request which a particular state machine is processing results in an error, the particular state machine may enter a freeze state. Information regarding the request which is collected by the state machine may thereby be saved for later access. A state machine freezes upon detection of the error if a maximum number of the multiple state machines are not already frozen and the aforementioned error mask indicates that full error logging is employed for the detected error. Therefore, at leas…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.