Broadcast state renaming in a microprocessor

A processor comprising:

• means for generating an identifier field in a microinstruction, the identifier field indicating one of a plurality of copies of broadcast state of the processor to be used in processing a microinstruction;
• and
• a functional unit including
• means for receiving and internally storing the plurality of copies of broadcast state, and
• means for selecting one of the copies of broadcast state indicated by the identifier field, and
• means for processing the microinstruction using the selected copy of broadcast state.

A processor comprising:

• a memory execution unit including a segment register, content of the segment register representing state of the processor;
• a microcode sequencer to sequence microinstructions for execution in the processor, including setting an identifier field in at least some of the microinstructions, the identifier field of each such microinstruction indicating one of a plurality of copies of broadcast state of the processor to be used in processing the microinstruction;
• and
• a functional unit to receive and internally store the plurality of copies of broadcast state and to select, based on the identifier field of a microinstruction, one of the copies for use in processing the microinstruction.

A microprocessor comprising:

• a memory execution unit including a segment register file containing a segment register, content of the segment register representing state of the microprocessor to be broadcast within the microprocessor;
• a renamer to selectively rename registers of the processor, including the segment register;
• a microcode sequencer to sequence microinstructions for execution in the processor, including setting an identifier field in at least some of the microinstructions, the identifier field of each such microinstruction indicating one of a plurality of different copies of broadcast state of the microprocessor to be used in processing the microinstruction, each copy of broadcast state corresponding to a different renamed version of the segment register;
• and
• a functional unit to receive and internally store the plurality of different copies of broadcast state and to select, based on the identifier field of a microinstruction, one of the copies for use in processing the microinstruction.

A method comprising:

• storing a plurality of copies of broadcast state of a processor in each of a plurality of functional units of the processor;
• issuing a microinstruction in the processor, the microinstruction including an identifier;
• and
• using the identifier in at least one of the functional units to select one of the plurality of copies of broadcast state for use in processing the microinstruction.