US5317738A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Process affinity scheduling method and apparatus
Assignee: Teradata US Inc
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Filing: 1992-02-18
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Granted: 1994-05-31
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Expires: 2012-02-18
Abstract
Abstract Process migration is controlled in multiple processor system by a circuit providing a rapid lookup to see if an available process has any affinity for the top N entries on the system run queue. If the currently available processor has an affinity for, i.e. has one or more lines of operands and/or instructions stored in its local cache related to the process, then the processor selects the process it has affinity for from the top N processes on the run queue. In this manner, unnecessary replacements of cache lines with data from main memory is reduced.
Inventors
- 👤 Arthur F. Cochcroft, Jr.
- 👤 Jimmy D. Pike
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-01 04:23
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F9/00; G06F9/06; G06F9/46; G06F9/50; G06F9/5061; G06F9/5066; G06F12/00; G06F12/02; G06F12/08; G06F12/0802; G06F12/0806; G06F12/0842
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
114 words
An apparatus for use with a computer system having a plurality of processors each having a local external cache memory, comprising: an affinity cache means for storing in a plurality of cache data lines identification codes that identify the most recently executed user processes; each of said cache data lines containing data which indicates the number of data lines occupied in the local external cache by a respective user process; and means for comparing an identification code of a ready-to-run process listed in a run queue of the computer system to each of said identification codes in said affinity cache means to determine if a user process has an affinity for an available processor.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
114 words
An apparatus for use with a computer system having a plurality of processors each having a local external cache memory, comprising: an affinity cache means for storing in a plurality of cache data lines identification codes that identify the most recently executed user processes; each of said cache data lines containing data which indicates the number of data lines occupied in the local external cache by a respective user process; and means for comparing an identification code of a ready-to-run process listed in a run queue of the computer system to each of said identification codes in said affinity cache means to determine if a user process has an affinity for an available processor.
Claim 3
Independent Claim
136 words
An apparatus for use with a computer system having a plurality of processors each having a local external cache memory, comprising: an affinity cache means for storing in a plurality of cache data lines identification codes that identify the most recently executed user processes; each of said cache data lines containing data which indicates the number of data lines occupied in the local external cache by a respective user process; means for comparing an identification code of a ready-to-run process listed in a run queue of the computer system to each of said identification codes in said affinity cache means to determine if a user process has an affinity for an available processor; and means for associating and storing a respective kernel/user bit with each of the plurality of identification codes in said affinity cache means.
Claim 4
Independent Claim
136 words
An apparatus for use with a computer system having a plurality of processors each having a local external cache memory, comprising: an affinity cache means for storing in a plurality of cache data lines identification codes that identify the most recently executed user processes; each of said cache data lines containing data which indicates the number of data lines occupied in the local external cache by a respective user process; means for comparing an identification code of a ready-to-run process listed in a run queue of the computer system to each of said identification codes in said affinity cache means to determine if a user process has an affinity for an available processor; and means for associating and storing a respective kernel/user bit with each of the plurality of identification codes in said affinity cache means.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
23 words
An apparatus for use with a computer system according to claim 2, wherein said affinity cache means is a fully associative cache memory.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
37 words
An apparatus for use with a computer system according to claim 2, further comprising means for storing a respective valid/invalid bit that is associated with each of the plurality of identification codes in said affinity cache means.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
155 words
An apparatus for use with a computer system having a plurality of processors each having a local external cache memory, comprising: an affinity cache means for storing identification codes of a plurality of most recently executed user processes in a plurality of cache data lines thereof; each of said cache data lines of said affinity cache means having a counter value stored therein of a number of data lines of a user process that corresponds to a number of cache data lines that the user process occupies in the local external cache; means for comparing an identification code of a ready-to-run process listed in a run queue of the computer system to each of said identification codes in said affinity cache means and providing an indicator signal if said identification codes match; and means for associating and storing a respective kernel/user bit with each of the plurality of identification codes in said affinity cache means.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
155 words
An apparatus for use with a computer system having a plurality of processors each having a local external cache memory, comprising: an affinity cache means for storing identification codes of a plurality of most recently executed user processes in a plurality of cache data lines thereof; each of said cache data lines of said affinity cache means having a counter value stored therein of a number of data lines of a user process that corresponds to a number of cache data lines that the user process occupies in the local external cache; means for comparing an identification code of a ready-to-run process listed in a run queue of the computer system to each of said identification codes in said affinity cache means and providing an indicator signal if said identification codes match; and means for associating and storing a respective kernel/user bit with each of the plurality of identification codes in said affinity cache means.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
23 words
An apparatus for use with a computer system according to claim 5, wherein said affinity cache means is a fully associative cache memory.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
37 words
An apparatus for use with a computer system according to claim 5, further comprising means for storing a respective valid/invalid bit that is associated with each of the plurality of identification codes in said affinity cache means.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1997-05-30 | 1997-11-29 | 1998-05-31 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2001-05-30 | 2001-11-29 | 2002-05-31 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2005-05-30 | 2005-11-29 | 2006-05-31 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |