Memory mapped spin lock controller
OwnerLouis Huemillerinventor
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Abstract
A method, in a computer system having a centralized spin lock controller arrangement, for managing a spin lock between a first processor and a second processor. The first processor holds the spin lock, the second processor contends for the spin lock, and the spin lock is implemented using a line of memory. The method includes invalidating a first private copy of the line that is held by the first processor. The method further includes providing a second private copy of the line to the second processor even before the first processor releases the spin lock, thereby preventing the second processor from requesting for a private copy of the line again while the spin lock is still held by the first processor.
Claims20
In a computer system having a centralized spin lock controller arrangement, a method for managing a spin lock between a first processor and a second processor, said first processor holding said spin lock, said second processor contending for said spin lock, said spin lock being implemented using a line of memory, comprising:
- invalidating a first private copy of said line that is held by said first processor;
- and
- providing a second private copy of said line to said second processor even before said first processor releases said spin lock, thereby preventing said second processor from requesting for a private copy of said line again while said spin lock is still held by said first processor.
In a computer system having a centralized spin lock controller arrangement, a method for managing a spin lock among a plurality of processors, said spin lock being held by a first processor of said plurality of processors, said spin lock being implemented using a line of memory, comprising:
- providing a first private copy of said line to said first processor;
- thereafter
- permitting said first processor to write said private copy of said line in a cache of said first processor without signaling said centralized spin lock controller arrangement that said first processor is going to write to said private copy of said line if no other processor of said plurality of processors contends for said spin lock.
In a computer system having a centralized spin lock controller arrangement, a method for managing a spin lock among a plurality of contending processors and a first processor, said first processor holding said spin lock, said plurality of contending processors contending for said spin lock, said spin lock being implemented using a line of memory, comprising:
- invalidating a first private copy of said line that is held by said first processor;
- and
- providing private copies of said line to said plurality of contending processors even before said first processor releases said spin lock, thereby preventing processors in said plurality of contending processors from requesting for a private copy of said line again while said spin lock is still held by said first processor.
An article of manufacture comprising a program storage medium having computer readable code embodied therein, said computer readable code being configured to a spin lock among a plurality of processors in a computer having a centralized spin lock controller arrangement, said spin lock being implemented using a line of memory, comprising:
- computer-readable code for providing a first private copy of said line to said first processor;
- thereafter
- computer-readable code for permitting said first processor to write said private copy of said line in a cache of said first processor without signaling said centralized spin lock controller arrangement that said first processor is going to write to said private copy of said line if no other processor of said plurality of processors contends for said spin lock.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.