Hardware Timer Manager with Segmented Precision Checking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing timer managers are costly and inefficient in managing a large number of timers with varying precision levels and expiration periods, leading to resource wastage and increased design complexity.
Innovation Solution
A timer manager that supports multiple precision levels by grouping timers and checking them at different frequencies, allowing for efficient management of timer entries with automatic expiration event scheduling and timestamp synchronization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a timer manager tracks a large number of timers with high precision, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The timer manager divides timer entries into multiple groups (first group, second group, etc.), where each group can be checked at different frequencies. This segmentation allows high-precision timing for critical timers while using lower precision for less critical ones, reducing overall system complexity and resource requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
Different groups of timer entries are assigned different precision levels and checking frequencies based on their specific requirements. The first group of timer entries is checked more frequently than the second group, providing locally optimized precision for different timer categories rather than uniform high precision across all timers.
2Reliability
If the timer manager checks all timer entries frequently, then reliability of timer expiration detection is improved, but productivity of other system operations decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The timer checking process is segmented into multiple groups with different checking frequencies. The hardware logic checks the first group of timer entries more frequently than the second group, ensuring reliable detection for critical timers while reducing overall checking overhead and improving system productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
Different groups of timer entries are checked at different periodic intervals. The first group is checked more frequently than the second group, allowing the system to balance reliability of timer expiration detection with productivity of other operations by adjusting the periodicity of checks for different timer categories.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the timer manager supports multiple precision levels, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The timer manager structure is segmented into multiple groups of timer entries, where each group can be configured with different precision levels. This segmentation provides adaptability for supporting multiple precision levels while keeping the overall structure manageable through systematic organization of timer groups with varying characteristics.
Data Source
AI summary
A hardware timer manager may be employed in a network accelerator. The timer manager may support multiple precision levels of timers. A timer manager may split up a total group of supported timer entries into multiple precision groups in a memory. The timer manager may check a programmed number of timer entries in a highest precision group before checking a single programmed timer entry in the next group, and repeating this checking scheme until a timer entry in a lowest precision group is checked, then repeating it from the start.