Context Switching DMA Engine for High-Speed Application Transitions

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Solution Overview

Problem

Context switching in processing sections with thousands of registers and large context sizes leads to significant processing delays, impairing real-time performance.

Innovation Solution

A data processing system with a context switching DMA engine that detects switching timing and transfers contexts between the processing section and memory, bypassing software management, allowing for high-speed context switching by directly saving and installing contexts.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of time

If context switching is executed through software management, then application execution flexibility is maintained, but processing delay increases due to large context sizes

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontext switching delayVSAvoidcontext transfer complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of timeVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces software-based context management with a hardware DMA engine that directly transfers context data between memory and the processing section. This mechanical/hardware substitution eliminates software intervention overhead, achieving high-speed context switching without software management complexity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The DMA engine acts as an intermediary between memory and the processing section, handling context transfer independently. This mediator enables direct hardware-to-hardware communication, bypassing software layers and reducing context switching delay while maintaining system coordination

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Productivity

If processing section executes multiple applications in time division, then resource utilization improves, but context switching frequency increases causing delays

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveapplication execution efficiencyVSAvoidcontext switching delay

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The DMA engine enables continuous context transfer operations independent of application execution cycles. By decoupling context switching from application runtime, the system maintains continuous productive work in the processing section while context updates occur in parallel, eliminating interrupt-induced delays

Inventive Principle:

Principle #20Continuity of useful action

Solution Approach 2:

The system prepares context data in memory before switching is needed, and the DMA engine can pre-load next application contexts. This preliminary preparation eliminates wait time during switching, allowing the processing section to transition between applications without interruption to the application logic

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS11789714B2Data processing system, data transfer device, and context switching method

Publication Date: 2023.10.17 SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT LLC

AI summary

A processing section executes processes concerning a plurality of applications in a time division manner. A Context Switching Direct Memory Access (CSDMA) engine detects a switching timing of an application to be executed in the processing section. When detecting the switching timing, the CSDMA engine saves a context of an application that is being executed in the processing section 46, to a main memory from the processing section, and installs a context of an application to be subsequently executed in the processing section, from the main memory to the processing section, not through a process by software managing the plurality of applications.