Bus Bridge Prefetch for Data Transfer Efficiency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Bridges often lack the capability to communicate the full amount of data requested between devices on different buses, leading to inefficient data transfers.
Innovation Solution
A prefetch device is configured to detect read requests between devices on different buses and triggers the bridge to request additional data portions, optimizing data transfers by monitoring communications and managing data buffers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a bridge is used to couple different buses for data transfer, then devices on different buses can communicate with each other, but the bridge cannot communicate the full amount of data requested, leading to inefficient data transfers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by having the bridge prefetch additional data portions before they are actually requested. When the bridge receives a read request for N bytes of data, it automatically requests N+M bytes (where M is a prefetch amount) from the second device. This preliminary fetching of extra data ensures that when subsequent read requests arrive, the data is already available in the bridge's buffer, eliminating wait times and improving overall data transfer efficiency without requiring changes to the fundamental bridge architecture
2Productivity
If the bridge requests only the exact amount of data requested, then data transfer accuracy is maintained, but transfer efficiency decreases due to repeated requests
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback through a tracking mechanism that monitors the relationship between data requested by devices and data actually transferred through the bridge. The bridge maintains a record of bytes requested versus bytes transferred, and uses this feedback information to intelligently determine when to trigger additional prefetch requests. This feedback loop ensures that the bridge transfers the exact amount of data that will ultimately be consumed, preventing both data loss and unnecessary transfers, while maintaining high transfer efficiency through optimized batching
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are disclosed for detecting a first device on a first bus issuing a read request for an amount of data to a second device on a second bus. The systems and methods further include detecting a bridge requesting a first portion of the data from the second device on behalf of the first device in response to the bridge receiving the read request, where the bridge couples the first bus to the second bus. In addition, the systems and methods include triggering the bridge to request an additional portion of the data on behalf of the first device.