Method and apparatus for user-level thread synchronization with a monitor and MWAIT architecture
US9898351B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 24, 2015 |
| Grant date | Feb 20, 2018 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 28, 2036 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02D10/00
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Instructions and logic provide user-level thread synchronization with MONITOR and MWAIT instructions. One or more model specific registers (MSRs) in a processor may be configured in a first execution state to specify support of a user-level thread synchronization architecture. Embodiments include multiple hardware threads or processing cores, corresponding monitored address state storage to store a last monitored address for each of a plurality of execution threads that issues a MONITOR request, cache memory to record MONITOR requests and associated states for addresses of memory storage locations, and responsive to receipt of an MWAIT request for the address, to record an associated wait-to-trigger state of monitored addresses for execution cores associated with an MWAIT request; wherein the execution core is to transition a requesting thread to an optimized sleep state responsive to the receipt of said MWAIT request when said one or more MSRs are configured in the first execution state.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.