Apparatus, method and computer program product for converting simple locks in a multiprocessor system
US6842809B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 12, 2001 |
| Grant date | Jan 11, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 2, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F9/524
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An apparatus, method and computer program product for minimizing the negative effects that occur when simple locks are highly contended among processors which may or may not have identical latencies to the memory that represents a given lock, are provided. The apparatus, method and computer program product minimize these effects by converting simple locks such that they act as standard simple locks when there is no contention and act as krlocks when there is contention for a lock. In this way, the number of processors spinning on a lock is limited to a single processor, thereby reducing the number of processors that are in a wait state and not performing any useful work.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.