Memory Access Request Tracking by Target Slave Bandwidth
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems limit performance due to finite tracking capacity of intermediate elements in interconnects, leading to rejection of memory access requests targeting faster slave elements despite their availability, resulting in underutilized system bandwidth.
Innovation Solution
An intermediate element within the interconnect that manages memory access requests based on target slave element bandwidth capability, prioritizing tracking resources for faster slave elements and implementing retry mechanisms for slower ones.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the intermediate element tracks all pending memory access requests uniformly, then tracking completeness is maintained, but system bandwidth utilization deteriorates due to rejection of requests targeting faster slave elements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating tracking resource allocation based on the specific characteristics of each slave element. Instead of uniform tracking, the system provides enhanced tracking capacity for slave elements with higher bandwidth capabilities, allowing requests to be accepted and processed more efficiently for faster targets while maintaining reliability for all tracked requests.
2Productivity
If the intermediate element accepts more memory access requests, then system throughput is improved, but tracking capacity is exceeded leading to request rejection
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamics by making tracking capacity flexible and adaptive rather than static. The tracking capacity of the intermediate element is dynamically adjusted based on the bandwidth capabilities of target slave elements, allowing the system to accept more requests overall while prioritizing tracking resources for requests that can be processed faster, thereby increasing throughput without exceeding effective tracking capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies parameter changes by modifying the tracking capacity parameter of the intermediate element based on the characteristics of the target slave element. When a request targets a slave element with higher bandwidth capability, the system increases the tracking capacity allocated for that request, enabling the system to handle more concurrent requests and improve throughput while managing limited tracking resources effectively.
3Productivity
If the intermediate element prioritizes tracking for faster slave elements, then bandwidth utilization is improved, but tracking complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-characterizing slave elements according to their bandwidth capabilities before memory access requests are generated. This preliminary classification allows the intermediate element to quickly determine appropriate tracking capacity allocation without complex real-time analysis, simplifying the tracking process while still achieving improved bandwidth utilization through prioritized handling of requests to faster slave elements.
Data Source
AI summary
A technique for handling memory access requests is described. An apparatus has an interconnect for coupling a plurality of requester elements with a plurality of slave elements. The requester elements are arranged to issue memory access requests for processing by the slave elements. An intermediate element within the interconnect acts as a point of serialisation to order the memory access requests issued by requester elements via the intermediate element. The intermediate element has tracking circuitry for tracking handling of the memory access requests accepted by the intermediate element. Further, request acceptance management circuitry is provided to identify a target slave element amongst the plurality of slave elements for that given memory access request, and to determine whether the given memory access request is to be accepted by the intermediate element dependent on an indication of bandwidth capability for the target slave element.