Patent · US Active

Instruction breakpoints in a multi-core, multi-thread network communications processor architecture

US8868889B2 · kind B2 · utility

5Cited by
21References
16Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateDec 22, 2010
Grant dateOct 21, 2014
Priority date
Expiry dateAug 21, 2033

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04L47/522
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Described embodiments provide a packet classifier for a network processor that generates tasks corresponding to each received packet. The packet classifier includes a scheduler to generate threads of contexts corresponding to tasks received by the packet classifier from a plurality of processing modules of the network processor. A multi-thread instruction engine processes instructions corresponding to threads received from the scheduler. The multi-thread instruction engine executes instructions by fetching an instruction of the thread from an instruction memory of the packet classifier and determining whether a breakpoint mode of the network processor is enabled. If the breakpoint mode is enabled, and breakpoint indicator of the fetched instruction is set, the packet classifier enters a breakpoint mode. Otherwise, if the breakpoint indicator of the fetched instruction is not set, the multi-thread instruction engine executes the fetched instruction.

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