Method and apparatus for intelligent side-door whacking

A method comprising:

• examining whether there is contention for an entry slot into an execution stream;
• examining a criticality of a next-in-line μOP of a front-door stream if there is contention at the entry slot;
• and
• if the next-in-line front-door μOP is not critical, discarding the next-in-line front-door μOP and placing a next-in-line μOP of a side-door stream into the entry slot.

A method comprising:

• accessing a next-in-line μOP of an input stream;
• applying a metric to the next-in-line μOP;
• and
• if the next-in-line μOP satisfies the metric, identifying the next-in-line μOP as critical.

A method comprising:

• accessing a next-in-line μOP of a front-door stream;
• comparing an age of the next-in-line front-door μOP with a predefined threshold age;
• and
• if the age of the next-in-line front-door μOP exceeds the threshold age, identifying the next-in-line front-door μOP as critical.

A method comprising:

• accessing a next-in-line μOP of a front-door stream, the next-in-line front-door μOP associated with a thread;
• determining whether the thread has been given priority;
• and
• if the thread has priority, identifying the next-in-line front-door μOP as critical.

A device comprising

• a selector having a first input, a second input, and an output;
• first circuitry coupled with the first input, the first circuitry to provide a first input stream to the selector;
• and
• second circuitry coupled with the second input, the second circuitry to provide a second input stream to the selector, the second circuitry to
• determine a criticality of a next-in-line μOP of the first input stream, and
• if the next-in-line μOP of the first input stream is not critical, provide a select signal to the selector indicating that the next-in-line μOP of the second input stream is selected for the output of the selector.

A device comprising

• a multiplexer having a front-door input, a side-door input, and an output;
• a scheduler coupled with the first input, the scheduler to provide a front-door stream to the multiplexer;
• and
• a page miss handler coupled with the side-door input, the page miss handler to provide a side-door stream to the multiplexer, the page miss handler to
• determine a criticality of a next-in-line μOP of the front-door stream, and
• if the next-in-line front-door μOP is not critical, whack the next-in-line front-door μOP and place a next-in-line μOP of the side-door stream into the output of the multiplexer.

A device comprising:

• a selector to receive an input stream;
• and
• a whacking element coupled with the selector, the whacking element to
• access a next-in-line μOP of the input stream,
• apply a metric to the next-in-line μOP, and
• if the next-in-line μOP satisfies the metric, identify the next-in-line μOP as critical.

A device comprising:

• a multiplexer having a first input, a second input, and an output, the multiplexer to receive a front-door stream at the first input;
• a page miss handler coupled with the second input of the multiplexer, the page miss handler to provide a side-door stream to the multiplexer;
• and
• a whacking element coupled with the page miss handler, the whacking unit to
• access a next-in-line μOP of the front-door stream,
• compare an age of the next-in-line front-door μOP with a predefined threshold age, and
• if the age of the next-in-line front-door μOP exceeds a threshold age, identify the next-in-line front-door μOP as critical.

A device comprising:

• a multiplexer having a first input, a second input, and an output, the multiplexer to receive a front-door stream at the first input;
• a page miss handler coupled with the second input of the multiplexer, the page miss handler to provide a side-door stream to the multiplexer;
• and
• a whacking element coupled with the page miss handler, the whacking element to
• access a next-in-line μOP of the front-door stream, the next-in-line front-door μOP associated with a thread,
• determine whether the thread has been given priority, and
• if the thread has priority, identify the next-in-line front-door μOP as critical.

An article of manufacture comprising:

• a machine accessible medium providing content that, when accessed by a machine, causes the machine to
• determine a criticality of a next-in-line μOP of a first input stream;
• and
• if the next-in-line μOP of the first input stream is not critical, discard the next-in-line μOP of the first input stream and place a next-in-line μOP of a second input stream into an output stream.

An article of manufacture comprising:

• a machine accessible medium providing content that, when accessed by a machine, causes the machine to
• access a next-in-line μOP of an input stream;
• apply a metric to the next-in-line μOP;
• and
• if the next-in-line μOP satisfies the metric, identify the next-in-line ,μOP as critical.