Atomic Data Buffer Bypasses Memory for ALU Pipelining
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Solution Overview
Problem
Back-to-back atomic operations in computing systems experience significant performance degradation and increased battery life consumption due to the long time required for data to be fetched from memory, modified by an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), and returned to memory, leading to a prolonged loop of atomic accesses.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a memory access controller that forms an execution pipeline for atomic operations, allowing a portion of the pipeline to bypass memory and using an atomic data buffer to store and reuse data, thereby reducing the need for repeated memory access and enhancing performance and battery life.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If data is fetched from memory and returned for each atomic operation, then data modification accuracy is ensured, but processing time increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by fetching data from memory once and storing it in a local buffer before a series of atomic operations. This allows multiple atomic operations to be performed on the cached data without repeated memory accesses, significantly reducing processing time while maintaining data modification accuracy through controlled buffer updates.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary component - a local buffer - that sits between memory and the processing unit. This buffer acts as a mediator by holding copies of data, allowing atomic operations to proceed using cached data while periodically synchronizing with memory, thus reducing memory access frequency while ensuring data accuracy.
2Stability of the object's composition
If sequential atomic operations wait for predecessors to complete, then data consistency is maintained, but throughput decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the atomic operation workflow into two independent parts: operations that can proceed using cached data from the buffer, and operations that require memory synchronization. This segmentation allows multiple atomic operations to be processed in parallel using the buffer, improving throughput while maintaining data consistency through periodic memory updates.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables continuity of useful action by allowing atomic operations to continue processing using data in the local buffer without waiting for memory operations to complete. This maintains continuous processing flow and improves throughput, while consistency is preserved by updating the buffer from memory at appropriate synchronization points.
3Reliability
If multiple atomic operations access the same memory location, then data integrity is ensured, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by loading data into a local buffer before multiple atomic operations access it. This eliminates repeated energy-consuming memory accesses for operations that can work with the cached data, significantly reducing energy consumption while maintaining data integrity through controlled buffer-to-memory synchronization.
4Loss of information
If data is repeatedly fetched from memory for back-to-back atomic operations, then data freshness is maintained, but performance degrades
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses an intermediary buffer to hold data copies, allowing atomic operations to proceed with potentially stale data from the buffer rather than repeatedly accessing memory. Data freshness is maintained by periodically updating the buffer from memory, while performance improves by eliminating repeated slow memory access operations.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems may provide for receiving a request to perform an atomic operation and adding the atomic operation to an execution pipeline of an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) for one or more pending atomic operations if the one or more pending atomic operations are associated with a memory location identified in the request. Additionally, at least a portion of the execution pipeline may bypass the memory location. In one example, adding the atomic operation to the execution pipeline includes populating a linked list with a modification associated with the atomic operation, wherein the linked list is dedicated to the memory location.