Hardware Virtual Memory Page Migration in Heterogeneous Systems

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Solution Overview

Problem

Software-based data migration in unified memory systems results in excessive overhead, necessitating a solution to minimize this overhead and improve performance by offloading page faults and software processing to hardware.

Innovation Solution

A virtual memory management technology that detects local memory access and migrates pages without software intervention, using an inverted page table to generate frame identifications and perform page migration between system and device memories, thereby reducing the time required for page migration and improving performance.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If software-based data migration is used in unified memory systems, then data can be migrated between heterogeneous memory sets, but excessive overhead is generated

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata migration capabilityVSAvoidprocessing overhead

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces software-based page migration with a hardware-based mechanism. A page migration unit in the GPU detects page faults and performs data migration between system memory and device memory through hardware operations, eliminating the need for software intervention and reducing processing overhead significantly

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The GPU's page migration unit autonomously handles page migration operations without requiring software intervention. When a page fault is detected, the hardware automatically migrates the required data pages between memory spaces, enabling self-service memory management

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

2Reliability

If software processing is used for page faults, then page migration can be performed, but time required for page migration increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepage migration functionalityVSAvoidpage migration time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent substitutes software page fault handling with hardware-based detection and migration. The page migration unit in the GPU hardware directly detects page faults and executes migration operations, dramatically reducing the time required compared to software-based approaches

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

3Adaptability or versatility

If unified memory technology is used, then memory overuse is supported, but software intervention is required for migration

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvememory overuse supportVSAvoidsoftware intervention requirement

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The GPU's page migration unit autonomously manages unified memory operations, detecting page faults and performing migrations without software intervention. This self-service mechanism maintains memory overuse support while eliminating the complexity of software-based migration management

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentUS20240184713A1Method and apparatus for managing virtual memory in heterogeneous system, and storage medium storing instructions to perform method for managing virtual memory

Publication Date: 2024.06.06 RES & BUSINESS FOUND SUNGKYUNKWAN UNIV

AI summary

There is provided a method for managing a virtual memory in a heterogeneous system. The method comprises receiving a request for accessing to a page in the heterogeneous system; determining a physical address corresponding to an address of the page in the device memory; generating a frame indentification of a migration destination of the device memory using an inverted page table stored in the device memory, when the determined physical address indicates an address allocated to the system memory; and performing page migration to the system memory using the frame indentification and the physical address.