Data Port Framework for Multi-Message Address Coalescing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional data port address coalescing in graphics processing units is limited to a single message at a time, leading to inefficient memory access patterns, fragmentation, and wasteful use of system resources such as bandwidth, memory, and power.
Innovation Solution
A novel data port framework that extends address coalescing to multiple SIMD messages, allowing for the merging of partial memory addresses into a single cache line address, thereby improving memory access efficiency and reducing power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If address coalescing is limited to a single message at a time, then the data port framework is simpler to implement, but memory access efficiency deteriorates and system resources are wasted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the address coalescing process into multiple independent stages: message reception stage, address extraction stage, coalescing stage, and message transmission stage. This allows the system to handle multiple SIMD messages through a unified data port without requiring complete redesign of the entire framework, thus improving memory access efficiency while controlling complexity growth.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a new dimension of parallelism by enabling multiple SIMD messages to be processed simultaneously through the same data port. Instead of sequentially processing single messages, the system now operates in a multi-message dimension, coalescing addresses from multiple messages into a single cache line address to improve throughput without proportionally increasing hardware complexity.
2Productivity
If multiple SIMD messages are processed simultaneously through a single data port, then memory access efficiency improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The data port is designed with multi-functionality to handle both single-message and multi-message operations. The same data port infrastructure can process traditional single-message transfers while also supporting the new multi-message coalescing operation, reducing the need for separate dedicated hardware paths and limiting complexity increase.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary coalescing mechanism that sits between message reception and memory access. This intermediary layer extracts addresses from multiple SIMD messages, coalesces them into a single cache line address, and then performs the memory access. This mediator approach allows complex multi-message handling without requiring fundamental changes to the underlying data port architecture.
3Device complexity
If conventional single-message address coalescing is used, then device complexity is lower, but power consumption increases due to fragmented memory accesses
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple fragmented memory addresses from different SIMD messages into a single unified cache line address. By combining these scattered address accesses into one consolidated memory operation, the system reduces the total number of memory transactions, thereby lowering power consumption while the coalescing mechanism itself remains relatively simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The system discards the inefficient fragmented access pattern and recovers energy by implementing coalesced access. By identifying and eliminating redundant or fragmented memory operations, the patent recovers power that would otherwise be wasted on unnecessary memory transactions, achieving energy savings without requiring complex reconfiguration of the address coalescing mechanism.
Data Source
AI summary
A mechanism is described for facilitating memory address compression at computing devices. A method of embodiments, as described herein, includes coalescing slot addresses across multiple messages received from an execution unit, where the slot addresses are coalesced in groups based on memory cacheline addresses such that each of a set of slot addresses in a group have a memory cacheline address in common between them. The method may further include outputting the memory cacheline addresses.