Hardware support for software controlled fast multiplexing of performance counters

Patent · Tue Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2013

OSTI ID:1107353

Salapura, Valentina; Wisniewski, Robert W

Performance counters may be operable to collect one or more counts of one or more selected activities, and registers may be operable to store a set of performance counter configurations. A state machine may be operable to automatically select a register from the registers for reconfiguring the one or more performance counters in response to receiving a first signal. The state machine may be further operable to reconfigure the one or more performance counters based on a configuration specified in the selected register. The state machine yet further may be operable to copy data in selected one or more of the performance counters to a memory location, or to copy data from the memory location to the counters, in response to receiving a second signal. The state machine may be operable to store or restore the counter values and state machine configuration in response to a context switch event.

• Research Organization: International Business Machines Corp., Armonk, NY (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: B554331
• Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation (Armonk, NY)
• Patent Number(s): 8,549,196
• Application Number: 13/566,528
• OSTI ID: 1107353
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English