Paul Brett - Published Papers & Patents

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Tecnologies for managing data object requests in a storage node cluster

Abstract Technologies for managing data object requests in a storage node cluster include a proxy computing node communicatively coupled to the cluster of storage nodes. The proxy computing node is configured to receive data object requests from a communicatively coupled client computing device and identify a plurality of storage nodes of the cluster at which the data object of the data object request is stored. The proxy computing node is further configured to determine which of the identified storage nodes from which to retrieve the stored data object and transmit a request for the data object....

Method for booting a heterogeneous system and presenting a symmetric core view

Abstract A heterogeneous processor architecture and a method of booting a heterogeneous processor is described. A processor according to one embodiment comprises: a set of large physical processor cores; a set of small physical processor cores having relatively lower performance processing capabilities and relatively lower power usage relative to the large physical processor cores; and a package unit, to enable a bootstrap processor. The bootstrap processor initializes the homogeneous physical processor cores, while the heterogeneous processor presents the appearance of a homogeneous processor to a system firmware interface....

Hetergeneous processor apparatus and method

Abstract A heterogeneous processor architecture is described. For example, a processor according to one embodiment of the invention comprises: a set of two or more small physical processor cores; at least one large physical processor core having relatively higher performance processing capabilities and relatively higher power usage relative to the small physical processor cores; virtual-to-physical (V-P) mapping logic to expose the set of two or more small physical processor cores to software through a corresponding set of virtual cores and to hide the at least one large physical processor core from the software....

Hetergeneous processor apparatus and method

Abstract A heterogeneous processor architecture is described. For example, a processor according to one embodiment of the invention comprises: a set of large physical processor cores; a set of small physical processor cores having relatively lower performance processing capabilities and relatively lower power usage relative to the large physical processor cores; virtual-to-physical (V-P) mapping logic to expose the set of large physical processor cores to software through a corresponding set of virtual cores and to hide the set of small physical processor core from the software....

Hetergeneous processor apparatus and method

Abstract Heterogeneous processor architecture is described. For example, a processor according to one embodiment of the invention comprises: a first set of one or more physical processor cores having first processing characteristics; a second set of one or more physical processor cores having second processing characteristics different from the first processing characteristics; virtual-to-physical (V-P) mapping logic to expose a plurality of virtual processors to software, the plurality of virtual processors to appear to the software as a plurality of homogeneous processor cores, the software to allocate threads to the virtual processors as if the virtual processors were homogeneous processor cores; wherein the V-P mapping logic is to map each virtual processor to a physical processor within the first set of physical processor cores or the second set of physical processor cores such that a thread allocated to a first virtual processor by software is executed by a physical processor mapped to the first virtual processor from the first set or the second set of physical processors....

Optimal logical processor count and type selection for a given workload based on platform thermals and power budgeting constraints

Abstract A processor includes multiple physical cores that support multiple logical cores of different core types, where the core types include a big core type and a small core type. A multi-threaded application includes multiple software threads are concurrently executed by a first subset of logical cores in a first time slot. Based on data gathered from monitoring the execution in the first time slot, the processor selects a second subset of logical cores for concurrent execution of the software threads in a second time slot....

Optimal logical processor count and type selection for a given workload based on platform thermals and power budgeting constraints

Abstract A processor includes multiple physical cores that support multiple logical cores of different core types, where the core types include a big core type and a small core type. A multi-threaded application includes multiple software threads are concurrently executed by a first subset of logical cores in a first time slot. Based on data gathered from monitoring the execution in the first time slot, the processor selects a second subset of logical cores for concurrent execution of the software threads in a second time slot....

Thread migration support for architectually different cores

Abstract According to one embodiment, a processor includes a plurality of processor cores for executing a plurality of threads, a shared storage communicatively coupled to the plurality of processor cores, a power control unit (PCU) communicatively coupled to the plurality of processors to determine, without any software (SW) intervention, if a thread being performed by a first processor core should be migrated to a second processor core, and a migration unit, in response to receiving an instruction from the PCU to migrate the thread, to store at least a portion of architectural state of the first processor core in the shared storage and to migrate the thread to the second processor core, without any SW intervention, such that the second processor core can continue executing the thread based on the architectural state from the shared storage without knowledge of the SW....

The Forgotten ‘Uncore’: On the Energy-Efficiency of Heterogeneous Cores

Abstract Heterogeneous multicore processors (HMPs), consisting of cores with different performance/power characteris- tics, have been proposed to deliver higher energy effi- ciency than symmetric multicores. This paper investi- gates the opportunities and limitations in using HMPs to gain energy-efficiency. Unlike previous work focused on server systems, we focus on the client workloads typi- cally seen in modern end-user devices. Further, beyond considering core power usage, we also consider the ‘un- core’ subsystem shared by all cores, which in modern platforms, is an increasingly important contributor to to- tal SoC power....

HeteroMates: Providing High Dynamic Power Range on Client Devices using Heterogeneous Core Groups

Abstract This paper presents HeteroMates, a solution that uses heterogeneous processors to extend the dynamic power/performance range of client devices. By using a mix of different processors, HeteroMates offers both high performance and reduced power consumption. The solution uses core groups as the abstraction that groups a small number of heterogeneous cores to form a single execution unit. Group heterogeneity is exposed as multiple heterogeneity (H) states, an interface similar to the P-state interface already used for frequency scaling....