Hardware Accelerator Availability for Low-Overhead Async Task Launch
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hardware accelerator systems face inefficiencies in asynchronous task processing due to complex software configuration and overheads, particularly in handling virtual address translations and fault reporting, which hinder their utilization for short tasks and introduce performance bottlenecks.
Innovation Solution
The system reuses the processing circuitry's memory management unit for virtual address translation of accelerator-triggered memory accesses, supports asynchronous fault reporting, and employs shared memory-mapped registers for efficient control and data transfer, allowing hardware accelerators to operate within the same address context as the processing circuitry, reducing software overheads and enabling direct user-level configuration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If hardware accelerators are used for asynchronous task processing, then processing performance is improved, but software configuration complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the memory management unit with the hardware accelerator control interface, allowing the same memory management infrastructure to serve both the processing circuitry and the hardware accelerator. This integration eliminates the need for separate memory management configurations and reduces software overhead by reusing existing address translation and fault handling mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a universal control interface that handles both memory management operations and hardware accelerator configuration through the same register space and instruction set. This multi-functional approach allows software to control both components using identical programming interfaces, significantly reducing configuration complexity while maintaining processing performance benefits.
2Productivity
If hardware accelerators handle delegated tasks asynchronously, then processing efficiency is improved, but fault reporting complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines fault reporting mechanisms into the existing memory management fault handling infrastructure. Hardware accelerator faults are reported through the same exception and interrupt channels used for memory management, eliminating the need for separate fault reporting paths and reducing software complexity while preserving asynchronous processing efficiency.
3Stability of the object's composition
If virtual address translation is implemented for accelerator memory accesses, then address context consistency is improved, but processing overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges virtual address translation for hardware accelerator memory accesses with the existing processor memory management unit. By using the same translation lookaside buffer and page table structures for both processor and accelerator accesses, the system maintains address context consistency without duplicating translation overhead, as the translation infrastructure serves both components simultaneously.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus comprises processing circuitry to execute instructions, and accelerator control interface circuitry to exchange control signals with at least one hardware accelerator configurable, based on instructions executed by the processing circuitry, to perform a delegated task. The accelerator control interface circuitry comprises control storage corresponding to a given hardware accelerator, the control storage configured to indicate availability of the given hardware accelerator. In response to determining that the control storage indicates unavailability of the given hardware accelerator, the accelerator control interface circuitry is configured to provide a launch outcome indication indicating to the processing circuitry that the given hardware accelerator is unavailable to perform an accelerator operation.