US 2004/0111591 A1 · Enhanced processor virtualization mechanism via saving and restoring soft processor/system states

Abstract

A method and system are disclosed for saving soft state information, which is non-critical for executing a process in a processor, upon a receipt of a process interrupt by the processor. The soft state is transmitted to a memory associated with the processor via a memory interface. Preferably, the soft state is transmitted within the processor to the memory interface via a scan-chain pathway within the processor, which allows functional data pathways to remain unobstructed by the storage of the soft state. Thereafter, the stored soft state can be restored from memory when the process is again executed.

Claims26

Dependent claims

A method of managing state information in a processor, the method comprising:

storing soft state information that is non-critical for executing a process in the processor within the processor;
and
in response to receiving a process interrupt at the processor, preserving at least a portion of the soft state information, at a time that the process interrupt was received, by transmitting the soft state information to a memory.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application

10/313,308Filed 5 Dec 2002

Published

10 Jun 2004

Term ends

Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification5 codes

G06F 9/30123
Organisation of register space, e.g. banked or distributed register file: according to context, e.g. thread buffers
G06F 9/30116
Register structure: shadow registers, e.g. coupled registers, not forming part of the register space
G06F 9/3013
Organisation of register space, e.g. banked or distributed register file: according to data content, e.g. floating-point registers, address registers
G06F 9/462
Saving or restoring of program or task context: with multiple register sets

Enhanced processor virtualization mechanism via saving and restoring soft processor/system states

Life of this patent

Enhanced processor virtualization mechanism via saving and restoring soft processor/system states

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims26