Apple inc. (20240095037). Coprocessor Prefetcher simplified abstract

Coprocessor Prefetcher

Organization Name

apple inc.

Inventor(s)

Brandon H. Dwiel of Boston MA (US)

Andrew J. Beaumont-smith of Cambridge MA (US)

Eric J. Furbish of Austin TX (US)

John D. Pape of Cedar Park TX (US)

Stephen G. Meier of Los Altos CA (US)

Tyler J. Huberty of Sunnyvale CA (US)

Coprocessor Prefetcher - A simplified explanation of the abstract

This abstract first appeared for US patent application 20240095037 titled 'Coprocessor Prefetcher

Simplified Explanation

The abstract describes a prefetcher for a coprocessor in a computing system, where the prefetcher monitors code sequences fetched by the processor and captures memory addresses of operand data for coprocessor instructions to prefetch data associated with those addresses before execution by the coprocessor.

• The apparatus includes a processor and a coprocessor that execute processor and coprocessor instructions, respectively.
• The coprocessor prefetcher monitors code sequences fetched by the processor and captures memory addresses of operand data for coprocessor instructions.
• Prefetches for data associated with the memory addresses are issued to a cache memory accessible to the coprocessor before execution of the coprocessor instructions.

Potential Applications

• High-performance computing systems
• Data-intensive applications
• Scientific simulations

Problems Solved

• Improving coprocessor performance
• Reducing latency in coprocessor data access

Benefits

• Enhanced overall system performance
• Efficient data processing
• Reduced wait times for coprocessor data access

Possible Prior Art

No known prior art.

Unanswered Questions

How does the prefetcher handle complex code sequences with multiple coprocessor instructions?

The abstract does not provide details on how the prefetcher manages code sequences with multiple coprocessor instructions and their associated data prefetching.

What impact does the prefetcher have on overall system power consumption?

The abstract does not address the potential effects of the prefetcher on the power consumption of the computing system.

Original Abstract Submitted

a prefetcher for a coprocessor is disclosed. an apparatus includes a processor and a coprocessor that are configured to execute processor and coprocessor instructions, respectively. the processor and coprocessor instructions appear together in code sequences fetched by the processor, with the coprocessor instructions being provided to the coprocessor by the processor. the apparatus further includes a coprocessor prefetcher configured to monitor a code sequence fetched by the processor and, in response to identifying a presence of coprocessor instructions in the code sequence, capture the memory addresses, generated by the processor, of operand data for coprocessor instructions. the coprocessor is further configured to issue, for a cache memory accessible to the coprocessor, prefetches for data associated with the memory addresses prior to execution of the coprocessor instructions by the coprocessor.