Proactive Throttling for Processor Power Supply Droops
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current processor core architectures face performance limitations due to excessive supply droops caused by rapid transitions between low and high power usage levels, leading to logic failures and decreased performance, with existing solutions like reactive throttling and power delivery network improvements being ineffective in new market segments.
Innovation Solution
Implementing proactive throttling techniques that control microoperation activity in core execution ports to ensure gradual power level transitions, using a finite state machine to manage throttling masks and limit acceleration, thereby preventing significant power supply droops.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the processor core rapidly transitions from low power to high power activity, then performance is improved, but supply droops occur causing logic failures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by proactively limiting microoperation acceleration before high-power instructions are fully dispatched. The throttling mechanism is activated in advance based on detecting upcoming high-power instruction patterns, preventing supply droops before they occur by controlling the rate at which microoperations are generated and executed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary anti-action by introducing a countermeasure (throttling) that opposes the harmful effect (supply droop) before it manifests. The system detects patterns indicating upcoming high-power consumption and applies throttling masks to limit microoperation generation, thereby preemptively counteracting the potential supply droop and its harmful effects on logic circuits.
2Reliability
If reactive throttling is implemented after detecting power consumption changes, then supply droops are reduced, but significant performance loss occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction by applying preliminary action - it proactively limits microoperation acceleration before high-power instructions are fully dispatched. The throttling mechanism is activated in advance based on detecting upcoming high-power instruction patterns, rather than waiting for power changes to occur. This timing allows supply droops to be prevented while minimizing performance impact since the throttling is applied gradually and predictively rather than reactively.
3Reliability
If power delivery network resources are improved, then supply droops are minimized, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by modifying the operational parameters of the processor core - specifically, it dynamically adjusts microoperation generation rates and execution throughput through throttling masks. Instead of changing the physical power delivery network infrastructure, the solution changes the computational workload parameters to match the power delivery capabilities, thereby stabilizing supply voltage through software-controlled parameter adjustment rather than hardware modification.
Data Source
AI summary
A processor and method are described for performing proactive throttling of execution unit ports. For example, one embodiment of a processor core comprises: a plurality of execution unit ports within an execution stage of the processor core; a scheduler unit to schedule execution of a plurality of operations to the plurality of execution unit ports; and proactive throttling logic to limit acceleration of execution of the operations by the ports to an acceleration level which does not result in significant power supply droops.