Multi-core processing system having cache coherency in dormant mode
AssigneeMarvell Israel (M.I.S.L) Ltd.
InventorsEitan Joshua, Tawfik Bayouk
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Abstract
Some of the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a multi-core processing system configured to selectively enter a dormant mode, comprising: a plurality of processing cores; a plurality of cache memories, wherein a cache memory is associated with one or more corresponding processing cores; and a coherency fabric configured to transmit snoop commands to the respective caches to maintain data coherency in data stored in the respective caches, the coherency fabric comprising: a queue configured to intercept and store snoop commands that are directed to a first cache when a first processing core associated with the first cache is in the dormant mode.
Claims18
A multi-core processing system comprising:
- a plurality of processing cores;
- a plurality of cache memories, wherein a cache memory is associated with one or more corresponding processing cores;
- and
- a coherency fabric configured to transmit snoop commands to the respective caches to maintain data coherency in data stored in the respective caches, the coherency fabric comprising:
- a snoop filter configured to (i) receive a plurality of snoop commands, (ii) while a first processing core is in a dormant mode, store in a queue first one or more snoop commands that are valid and that are directed to a first cache associated with the first processing core that is in the dormant mode, and (iii) while the first processing core is not in the dormant mode, transmit to the first cache, by bypassing the queue, second one or more snoop commands that are directed to the first cache.
A method for processing snoop commands in a multi-core processing system, the method comprising:
- transmitting snoop commands to a plurality of caches, ones of the plurality of caches being associated with a corresponding one or more processing cores of a plurality of processing cores of a multi-core processing system;
- when a first processing core associated with the first cache is in a dormant mode, intercepting and storing, in a queue, first one or more snoop commands that are directed to a first cache associated with the first processing core;
- providing the queued first one or more snoop commands to the first processing core for processing, before processing other cache commands, when the first processing core exits the dormant mode;
- and
- when the first processing core is not in the dormant mode, transmitting, to the first cache by bypassing the queue, second one or more snoop commands that are directed to the first cache.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.