Temporal Access Arbitration for Shared Memory Bandwidth
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing memory arbitration techniques in shared memory systems lead to resource wastage and increased overhead due to gaps introduced in access address space, which are application-dependent and result in suboptimal bandwidth utilization.
Innovation Solution
Implementing temporal access arbitration by creating two separate address spaces for shared resources and access agents, using address staggering or swizzling to map access agents to resources in a way that maximizes bandwidth usage, ensuring zero or near-zero access collisions per transaction cycle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If gaps are introduced in the access address space based on temporal access patterns, then resource bandwidth is maximized, but resource overhead increases and limited resources are wasted
Solution Approach 1:
The address space is segmented into multiple banks, allowing simultaneous access to different banks by multiple agents. This segmentation eliminates the need for gaps in the address space while maintaining temporal arbitration benefits, as each bank can be independently accessed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from one-dimensional temporal arbitration (using gaps in address space) to two-dimensional arbitration by introducing bank dimension. Multiple agents can access different banks simultaneously, achieving bandwidth maximization without address space gaps.
2Reliability
If gaps are introduced in the access address space to ensure temporal out-of-phase access, then access collisions are reduced, but addresses are mapped to unused data increasing resource overhead
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the memory into multiple banks, the patent achieves collision reduction through spatial distribution rather than temporal gaps. Each bank can be accessed independently, ensuring that simultaneous accesses to different banks do not collide, eliminating the need for unused address mappings.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates multiple copies of the memory structure (banks) that can be accessed simultaneously. This copying approach allows multiple agents to access the memory system in parallel without requiring gaps in the address space, as each bank is a functional copy.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure is discusses temporal access arbitration techniques for shared resources. Two separate address spaces may be defined for the shared resources and individual access agents. The temporal access arbitration techniques include temporally mapping addresses in an access agent address space to one or more addresses in the shared resource address space. The shared resources are accessed via linear addressing, where multiple addresses map to the same resources. Implementation constraints lead to a single resource being able to service several possible access agents per transaction cycle. In these ways, the temporal access arbitration techniques choreograph the access patterns of individual access agents so maximum resource bandwidth is achieved.