Local stall/hazard detect in superscalar, pipelined microprocessor
US6591360B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 18, 2000 |
| Grant date | Jul 8, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 18, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F9/3867
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and apparatus that generates a simplified, localized version (“a local stall”) of a global stall to improve the performance of a pipelined microprocessor. The local stall is generated when a data-dependency hazard is detected for a local consumer. Utilizing circuitry used in the pipelined microprocessor's data-forwarding circuitry, the local stall is generated with a relatively minor increase in circuitry. The local stall is generated much sooner than the global stall, arriving much sooner in a local pipeline. The local pipeline utilizes the local stall to override the global stall, when appropriate, and to ensure that correct data is read for a local consumer and to operate more efficiently than a standard pipeline without a local stall.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.