18344170. Debug Trace of Cache Memory Requests simplified abstract (Apple Inc.)
Contents
Debug Trace of Cache Memory Requests
Organization Name
Inventor(s)
Andrew J. Beaumont-smith of Cambridge MA (US)
Sandeep Gupta of San Mateo CA (US)
Krishna C. Potnuru of San Jose CA (US)
Matthias Knoth of Scotts Valley CA (US)
Debug Trace of Cache Memory Requests - A simplified explanation of the abstract
This abstract first appeared for US patent application 18344170 titled 'Debug Trace of Cache Memory Requests
Simplified Explanation
The patent application describes an apparatus that includes multiple processor circuits, a cache memory circuit, and a trace control circuit. The trace control circuit is designed to record information about the execution of programs on the processor circuits.
- The apparatus includes multiple processor circuits, a cache memory circuit, and a trace control circuit.
- The trace control circuit can be activated to record information about program execution on the processor circuits.
- It monitors memory requests between the processor circuits and the cache memory circuit.
- The trace control circuit uses an arbitration algorithm to select a specific memory request from the monitored requests.
- It allocates space in a trace buffer for the selected memory request.
- The trace control circuit stores information associated with the selected memory request in the trace buffer.
Potential applications of this technology:
- Debugging and performance analysis of computer systems.
- Optimizing program execution and identifying bottlenecks.
- Monitoring and analyzing memory access patterns.
- Profiling and optimizing cache usage.
Problems solved by this technology:
- Difficulty in understanding and analyzing program execution on multiple processor circuits.
- Lack of visibility into memory requests and their associated information.
- Inefficient debugging and performance analysis processes.
Benefits of this technology:
- Improved understanding and analysis of program execution on multiple processor circuits.
- Enhanced visibility into memory requests and their associated information.
- Streamlined debugging and performance analysis processes.
- More efficient optimization of program execution and cache usage.
Original Abstract Submitted
An apparatus includes a plurality of processor circuits, a cache memory circuit, and a trace control circuit. The trace control circuit may be configured, in response to activation of a mode to record information indicative of program execution of at least one processor circuit of the plurality of processor circuits, to monitor memory requests transmitted between ones of the plurality of processor circuits and the cache memory circuit, and then to select a particular memory request of monitored memory requests using an arbitration algorithm. The trace control circuit may be further configured to allocate space in a trace buffer to the particular memory request, and to store, in the trace buffer, information associated with the particular memory request.
