Computer System Margin Adjustment for Reliability
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Solution Overview
Problem
As computer system speeds increase, the margin of reliability decreases, making systems more susceptible to errors due to factors like voltage variations, temperature changes, and aging, which existing error detection methods like parity and cyclic redundancy checks fail to adequately address.
Innovation Solution
A method that evaluates operational characteristics such as bus transfer speed and timing parameters, adjusts the system configuration if margins fall below a threshold, and re-trains the system to achieve acceptable margins, thereby increasing reliability by optimizing parameters like voltage reference levels and transfer speeds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If system speed is increased, then productivity is improved, but reliability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts operational characteristics based on detected errors. When errors are detected during operation, the system modifies parameters such as bus transfer speed, timing settings, or voltage levels to optimize the margin under current operating conditions, allowing the system to adapt between speed and reliability requirements
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes physical or operational parameters of the system including bus transfer speed, timing parameters, and voltage reference levels. By adjusting these parameters based on error detection results, the system can re-optimize the margin while maintaining acceptable performance levels
2Productivity
If system speed is increased, then productivity is improved, but error susceptibility increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors for errors during operation and uses this feedback to adjust operational parameters. When errors are detected, the system modifies timing settings, bus speeds, or voltage levels to reduce error susceptibility, creating a closed-loop control mechanism that responds to actual system conditions
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs training operations before normal operation to establish baseline margins and detect potential issues. By conducting preliminary error detection and margin evaluation, the system can proactively adjust parameters before errors occur during actual data transfer operations
Data Source
AI summary
A system provides a mechanism for increasing reliability by allowing margins to be evaluated and if one or more margins of a current configuration are too small, system configuration is modified to increase the margin. A computing device determines through training a first operating point of at least one operational characteristic of the system and a first margin associated therewith. The first margin is compared to a predetermined threshold margin and if the first margin is less than the predetermined threshold margin, the configuration of the system is adjusted to provide a configuration with greater margin for the operational characteristic. The system is retrained with the new configuration to determine a second operating point and a second margin associated therewith and compares the second margin to the threshold margin to determine if the second margin is more than the threshold margin, to satisfy reliability requirements.