Dynamic Entry Shift Register for Skewed Data Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
In high-speed communications networks, data skewing occurs when data is partitioned and sent in parallel across multiple links, requiring realignment at the receiving system, which existing technologies struggle to address effectively.
Innovation Solution
A dynamic entry shift register system with multiple storage elements and multiplexers is used to align skewed data signals by inducing appropriate delays, allowing each multiplexer to select between the output of a previous storage element or the input signal, ensuring proper alignment across multiple parallel shift registers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If data is sent in parallel across multiple links to increase speed and capacity, then bandwidth and transmission speed are improved, but data skewing occurs requiring complex realignment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamic entry points in shift registers that can be configured at different positions based on detected skew conditions. The entry points are not fixed but can be dynamically adjusted to compensate for varying data skew amounts, allowing the system to adapt to different transmission scenarios without requiring complex fixed realignment circuits for every possible skew condition.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter of shift register entry point position to compensate for data skew. By varying the entry point position parameter across different shift registers or across time, the system can align skewed data without requiring complex realignment logic, thus reducing overall system complexity while maintaining high transmission speed.
2Device complexity
If traditional fixed entry shift registers are used, then the structure is simple, but they cannot align data with variable skew amounts effectively
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms fixed entry shift registers into dynamic entry shift registers where the entry point can be selectively positioned. This dynamic configuration allows the same simple register structure to adapt to variable skew conditions by changing which storage element receives the input signal, thereby achieving both structural simplicity and alignment adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The dynamic entry shift register structure serves multiple functions: it can accommodate different skew amounts, align data from multiple parallel links, and maintain simple hardware implementation. The same basic register structure with variable entry points replaces what would otherwise require multiple specialized realignment circuits, achieving universality across different alignment scenarios.
3Productivity
If multiple parallel shift registers are used to handle different data streams, then processing capacity increases, but skew alignment between registers becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
Each parallel shift register is equipped with dynamically configurable entry points that can be independently adjusted. This allows each register to compensate for its specific skew condition relative to other registers, enabling multiple parallel data streams to be processed simultaneously with proper alignment without requiring complex inter-register synchronization logic.
Solution Approach 2:
The system adjusts the entry point position parameter in each parallel shift register based on detected skew conditions. By changing this parameter independently in each register, the system can align multiple data streams with different skew amounts, thereby increasing processing capacity while maintaining manageable alignment complexity through localized parameter adjustment rather than global synchronization.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are, inter alia, methods, apparatus, computer-storage media, mechanisms, and means associated with a shift register with a dynamic entry point, which may particularly useful for aligning skewed data. The dynamic entry shift register typically includes a series of storage elements, with multiplexers distributed between the storage elements. Each of the multiplexers is configured to select between: (a) the output signal of a previous storage element, and (b) the input signal. A control is configured to configure the multiplexers for a data signal applied as the input signal to induce an appropriate delay of the data signal as the output signal. The dynamic entry shift register can be scaled to accommodate a longer delay while still using only 2:1 multiplexers between stages in the dynamic entry shift register(s).