Transactional memory using buffered writes and enforced serialization order

US7908255B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Microsoft Corporation · US

Inventors

• David L. Detlefs · Westford, US
• John Duffy · Renton, US
• Michael M. Magruder · Issaquah, US
• Goetz Graefe · Bellevue, US
• Vinod Grover · Mercer Island, US
• Timothy L. Harris · Cambridge, GB

Key dates

• Filing date: Apr 11, 2007
• Grant date: Mar 15, 2011
• Expiry date: Mar 7, 2028

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06F9/467
• WIPO field: Computer technology
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

Various technologies and techniques are disclosed that support buffered writes and enforced serialization order in a software transactional memory system. A buffered write process is provided that performs writes to shadow copies of objects and writes content back to the objects after validating a respective transaction during commit. When a write lock is first obtained for a particular transaction, a shadow copy is made of a particular object. Writes are performed to and reads from the shadow copy. After validating the particular transaction during commit, content is written from the shadow copy to the particular object. A transaction ordering process is provided that ensures that an order in which the transactions are committed matches an abstract serialization order of the transactions. Transactions are not allowed to commit until their ticket number matches a global number that tracks the next transaction that should commit.