Transaction Trace Circuitry for Resource Usage Profiling
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Solution Overview
Problem
In data processing systems that support transactions, there is a need to efficiently manage speculative updates and resource usage to avoid conflicts and optimize transaction execution, particularly in multi-threaded environments where resource usage profiling is lacking.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of processing circuitry and transaction trace circuitry that generates trace items indicating changes in resource usage levels during transaction execution, allowing for better resource management and future transaction optimization by analyzing these trace items.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If speculative updates are used to enable parallel transaction execution, then productivity is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to potential conflicts between transactions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by tracking resource usage levels during transaction execution and generating trace items that record these usage patterns before conflicts occur. This allows the system to analyze resource allocation in advance and optimize future transactions to avoid conflicts, thereby maintaining the productivity benefits of speculative updates while improving reliability through proactive conflict prevention.
2Measurement precision
If resource usage is tracked during transaction execution, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases due to additional trace circuitry
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential resource usage information needed for conflict detection and optimization, rather than tracking every detail of resource consumption. By selectively monitoring key resource usage levels and generating trace items only when significant changes occur, the system achieves sufficient measurement precision for conflict prevention while minimizing the complexity of the trace circuitry required.
3Measurement precision
If trace items are generated for every resource usage change, then measurement precision is improved, but loss of time increases due to frequent trace generation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by generating trace items only for significant resource usage changes rather than for every minor fluctuation. The system monitors resource usage levels and triggers trace item generation only when threshold violations or significant changes occur, thereby maintaining sufficient measurement precision for conflict detection while reducing the time overhead associated with continuous trace generation.
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided an apparatus comprising processing circuitry to execute a transaction comprising a number of program instructions that execute to generate updates to state data, to commit the updates if the transaction completes without a conflict, and to generate trace control signals during execution of the number of program instructions. The processing circuitry uses at least one resource during execution of the program instructions. Transaction trace circuitry generates trace items in response to the trace control signals. In response to the trace control signals indicating that a change in a usage level of the at least one resource has occurred during execution of the program instructions, the transaction trace circuitry generates at least one trace item that indicates the usage level of the at least one resource.