|
Latency Oriented Processor Architecture
Latency oriented processor architecture is the microarchitecture of a microprocessor designed to serve a serial computing thread with a low latency. This is typical of most central processing units (CPU) being developed since the 1970s. These architectures, in general, aim to execute as many instructions as possible belonging to a single serial thread, in a given window of time; however, the time to execute a single instruction completely from fetch to retire stages may vary from a few cycles to even a few hundred cycles in some cases. Latency oriented processor architectures are the opposite of throughput-oriented processors which concern themselves more with the total throughput of the system, rather than the service latencies for all individual threads that they work on. Flynn's taxonomy Typically, latency oriented processor architectures execute a single task operating on a single data stream, and so they are SISD under Flynn's taxonomy. Latency oriented processor architect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Microarchitecture
In computer engineering, microarchitecture, also called computer organization and sometimes abbreviated as µarch or uarch, is the way a given instruction set architecture (ISA) is implemented in a particular processor. A given ISA may be implemented with different microarchitectures; implementations may vary due to different goals of a given design or due to shifts in technology. Computer architecture is the combination of microarchitecture and instruction set architecture. Relation to instruction set architecture The ISA is roughly the same as the programming model of a processor as seen by an assembly language programmer or compiler writer. The ISA includes the instructions, execution model, processor registers, address and data formats among other things. The microarchitecture includes the constituent parts of the processor and how these interconnect and interoperate to implement the ISA. The microarchitecture of a machine is usually represented as (more or less detai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reduced Instruction Set Computing
In computer engineering, a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) is a computer designed to simplify the individual instructions given to the computer to accomplish tasks. Compared to the instructions given to a complex instruction set computer (CISC), a RISC computer might require more instructions (more code) in order to accomplish a task because the individual instructions are written in simpler code. The goal is to offset the need to process more instructions by increasing the speed of each instruction, in particular by implementing an instruction pipeline, which may be simpler given simpler instructions. The key operational concept of the RISC computer is that each instruction performs only one function (e.g. copy a value from memory to a register). The RISC computer usually has many (16 or 32) high-speed, general-purpose registers with a load/store architecture in which the code for the register-register instructions (for performing arithmetic and tests) are separate fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Re-order Buffer
A re-order buffer (ROB) is a hardware unit used in an extension to the Tomasulo algorithm to support out-of-order and speculative instruction execution. The extension forces instructions to be committed in-order. The buffer is a circular buffer (to provide a FIFO instruction ordering queue) implemented as an array/vector (which allows recording of results against instructions as they complete out of order). There are three stages to the Tomasulo algorithm: "Issue", "Execute", "Write Result". In an extension to the algorithm, there is an additional "Commit" stage. During the Commit stage, instruction results are stored in a register or memory. The "Write Result" stage is modified to place results in the re-order buffer. Each instruction is tagged in the reservation station with its index in the ROB for this purpose. The contents of the buffer are used for data dependencies of other instructions scheduled in the buffer. The head of the buffer will be committed once its result is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operand Forwarding
Operand forwarding (or data forwarding) is an optimization in pipelined CPUs to limit performance deficits which occur due to pipeline stalls. A data hazard can lead to a pipeline stall when the current operation has to wait for the results of an earlier operation which has not yet finished. Example ADD A B C #A=B+C SUB D C A #D=C-A If these two assembly pseudocode instructions run in a pipeline, after fetching and decoding the second instruction, the pipeline stalls, waiting until the result of the addition is written and read. In some cases all stalls from such read-after-write data hazards can be completely eliminated by operand forwarding: Larry Snyder"Pipeline Review" Technical realization The CPU control unit must implement logic to detect dependencies where operand forwarding makes sense. A multiplexer can then be used to select the proper register or flip-flop to read the operand from. See also *Feed forward (control) A feed forward (sometimes writt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Instructions Per Cycle
In computer architecture, instructions per cycle (IPC), commonly called instructions per clock is one aspect of a processor's performance: the average number of instructions executed for each clock cycle. It is the multiplicative inverse of cycles per instruction. John L. Hennessy, David A. Patterson.Computer architecture: a quantitative approach. 2007. Explanation While early generations of CPUs carried out all the steps to execute an instruction sequentially, modern CPUs can do many things in parallel. As it is impossible to just keep doubling the speed of the clock, instruction pipelining and superscalar processor design have evolved so CPUs can use a variety of execution units in parallel - looking ahead through the incoming instructions in order to optimise them. This leads to the ''instructions per cycle completed'' being much higher than 1 and is responsible for much of the speed improvements in subsequent CPU generations. Calculation of IPC The calculation of IPC is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Instruction Level Parallelism
Instruction-level parallelism (ILP) is the parallel or simultaneous execution of a sequence of instructions in a computer program. More specifically ILP refers to the average number of instructions run per step of this parallel execution. Discussion ILP must not be confused with concurrency. In ILP there is a single specific thread of execution of a process. On the other hand, concurrency involves the assignment of multiple threads to a CPU's core in a strict alternation, or in true parallelism if there are enough CPU cores, ideally one core for each runnable thread. There are two approaches to instruction-level parallelism: hardware and software. Hardware level works upon dynamic parallelism, whereas the software level works on static parallelism. Dynamic parallelism means the processor decides at run time which instructions to execute in parallel, whereas static parallelism means the compiler decides which instructions to execute in parallel. The Pentium processor wor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reservation Station
A unified reservation station, also known as unified scheduler, is a decentralized feature of the microarchitecture of a CPU that allows for register renaming, and is used by the Tomasulo algorithm for dynamic instruction scheduling. Reservation stations permit the CPU to fetch and re-use a data value as soon as it has been computed, rather than waiting for it to be stored in a register and re-read. When instructions are issued, they can designate the reservation station from which they want their input to read. When multiple instructions need to write to the same register, all can proceed and only the (logically) last one need actually be written. It checks if the operands are available (RAW) and if execution unit is free ( Structural hazard) before starting execution. Instructions are stored with available parameters, and executed when ready. Results are identified by the unit that will execute the corresponding instruction. Implicitly register renaming solves WAR and WA ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Memory Access Time
Column Address Strobe (CAS) latency, or CL, is the delay in clock cycles between the READ command and the moment data is available. In asynchronous DRAM, the interval is specified in nanoseconds (absolute time). In synchronous DRAM, the interval is specified in clock cycles. Because the latency is dependent upon a number of clock ticks instead of absolute time, the actual time for an SDRAM module to respond to a CAS event might vary between uses of the same module if the clock rate differs. RAM operation background Dynamic RAM is arranged in a rectangular array. Each row is selected by a horizontal ''word line''. Sending a logical high signal along a given row enables the MOSFETs present in that row, connecting each storage capacitor to its corresponding vertical ''bit line''. Each bit line is connected to a ''sense amplifier'' that amplifies the small voltage change produced by the storage capacitor. This amplified signal is then output from the DRAM chip as well as driven ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Temporal Locality
In computer science, locality of reference, also known as the principle of locality, is the tendency of a processor to access the same set of memory locations repetitively over a short period of time. There are two basic types of reference locality temporal and spatial locality. Temporal locality refers to the reuse of specific data and/or resources within a relatively small time duration. Spatial locality (also termed ''data locality''"NIST Big Data Interoperability Framework: Volume 1"urn:doi:10.6028/NIST.SP.1500-1r2) refers to the use of data elements within relatively close storage locations. Sequential locality, a special case of spatial locality, occurs when data elements are arranged and accessed linearly, such as traversing the elements in a one-dimensional Array data structure, array. Locality is a type of predictability, predictable behavior that occurs in computer systems. Systems that exhibit strong ''locality of reference'' are great candidates for performance optimiza ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Locality Of Reference
In computer science, locality of reference, also known as the principle of locality, is the tendency of a processor to access the same set of memory locations repetitively over a short period of time. There are two basic types of reference locality temporal and spatial locality. Temporal locality refers to the reuse of specific data and/or resources within a relatively small time duration. Spatial locality (also termed ''data locality''"NIST Big Data Interoperability Framework: Volume 1"urn:doi:10.6028/NIST.SP.1500-1r2) refers to the use of data elements within relatively close storage locations. Sequential locality, a special case of spatial locality, occurs when data elements are arranged and accessed linearly, such as traversing the elements in a one-dimensional Array data structure, array. Locality is a type of predictability, predictable behavior that occurs in computer systems. Systems that exhibit strong ''locality of reference'' are great candidates for performance optimiza ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Non-volatile Storage
Non-volatile memory (NVM) or non-volatile storage is a type of computer memory that can retain stored information even after power is removed. In contrast, volatile memory needs constant power in order to retain data. Non-volatile memory typically refers to storage in semiconductor memory chips, which store data in floating-gate memory cells consisting of floating-gate MOSFETs (metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors), including flash memory storage such as NAND flash and solid-state drives (SSD). Other examples of non-volatile memory include read-only memory (ROM), EPROM (erasable programmable ROM) and EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable ROM), ferroelectric RAM, most types of computer data storage devices (e.g. disk storage, hard disk drives, optical discs, floppy disks, and magnetic tape), and early computer storage methods such as punched tape and cards. Overview Non-volatile memory is typically used for the task of secondary storage or long-term pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Main Memory
Computer data storage is a technology consisting of computer components and recording media that are used to retain digital data. It is a core function and fundamental component of computers. The central processing unit (CPU) of a computer is what manipulates data by performing computations. In practice, almost all computers use a storage hierarchy, which puts fast but expensive and small storage options close to the CPU and slower but less expensive and larger options further away. Generally, the fast volatile technologies (which lose data when off power) are referred to as "memory", while slower persistent technologies are referred to as "storage". Even the first computer designs, Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine and Percy Ludgate's Analytical Machine, clearly distinguished between processing and memory (Babbage stored numbers as rotations of gears, while Ludgate stored numbers as displacements of rods in shuttles). This distinction was extended in the Von Neumann arch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
