Patent classifications
G06F9/30076
Operating system deactivation of storage block write protection absent quiescing of processors
Operating system deactivation of write protection for a storage block is provided absent quiescing of processors in a multi-processor computing environment. The process includes receiving an address translation protection exception interrupt resulting from an attempted write access by a processor to a storage block, and determining by the operating system whether write protection for the storage block is active. Based on write protection for the storage block not being active, the operating system issues an instruction to clear or modify translation lookaside buffer entries of the processor associated with the storage block, absent waiting for an action by another processor of multiple processors of the computing environment, to facilitate write access to the storage block proceeding at the processor.
DOMAIN TRANSITION DISABLE CONFIGURATION PARAMETER
A processing circuitry having a secure domain and a less secure domain. A control storage location stores a domain transition disable configuration parameter specifying whether domain transitions between the secure domain and the less secure domain are enabled or disabled in at least one mode of the process-ing circuitry. In the at least one mode of the processing circuitry, when the domain transition disable configuration parameter specifies that said domain transitions are disabled in said at least one mode, a disabled domain transition fault is signalled in response to an attempt to transition between domains in either direction. This can help support lazy configuration of resources for the secure domain or less secure domain for a thread expected only to need the other domain.
MECHANISM TO PROVIDE RELIABLE RECEIPT OF EVENT MESSAGES
Devices and techniques for providing receipts for event messages in a processor are described herein. A system includes multiple memory-compute nodes coupled to one another over a scale fabric; a set of registers; and an event manager hardware circuitry to: receive an event message corresponding to an event, and the event associated with an event mode; track a counter value representing a number of received event messages related to the event, the counter value stored in the set of registers; compare the number of received event messages to a trigger value; and in response to the number of received event messages equaling the trigger value: use an atomic operation to reset the counter value in the set of registers while maintaining the event mode; and alert a thread of the event.
PROCESSOR HAVING MULTIPLE CORES, SHARED CORE EXTENSION LOGIC, AND SHARED CORE EXTENSION UTILIZATION INSTRUCTIONS
An apparatus of an aspect includes a plurality of cores and shared core extension logic coupled with each of the plurality of cores. The shared core extension logic has shared data processing logic that is shared by each of the plurality of cores. Instruction execution logic, for each of the cores, in response to a shared core extension call instruction, is to call the shared core extension logic. The call is to have data processing performed by the shared data processing logic on behalf of a corresponding core. Other apparatus, methods, and systems are also disclosed.
Apparatus, system and method to define memory information leak zones in a computing system
An apparatus of a computing system, a computer-readable medium, a method and a system. The apparatus comprises processing circuitry including a core, and a communication controller coupled to the core to communicate with a memory of the computing system, wherein the memory is to define a leak zone corresponding to a plurality of memory addresses including data therein, the leak zone having an identifier; and the processing circuitry is to: decode instructions including a starting leak barrier, an ending leak barrier, and a sequence of code between the starting and ending leak barriers, the sequence of code including the identifier for the leak zone, the identifier to indicate the sequence of code is to be executed only on the data within the leak zone; and execute the sequence of code only on the data within the leak zone based on the leak barriers and on the identifier.
LOW-LATENCY REGISTER ERROR CORRECTION
Devices and techniques for low-latency register error correction are described herein. A register is read as part of an instruction when that instruction is the currently executing instruction in a processor. A correctable error in data produced from reading the register can be detected. In response to detecting the correctable error, the currently executing instruction in the processor can be changed into a register update instruction that is executed to overwrite the data in the register with corrected data. Then, the original (e.g., unchanged) instruction can be rescheduled.
Dynamic power management states for virtual machine migration
Systems and methods for supporting dynamic power management states for virtual machine (VM) migration are disclosed. In one implementation, a processing device may generate, by a host computer system, a host power management data structure specifying a plurality of power management states of the host computer system. The processing device may also detect that a VM has been migrated to the host computer system. The processing device may then prevent the VM from performing power management operations and may cause the virtual machine to read the host power management data structure. Responsive to receiving a notification that the VM has read the host power management data structure, the processing device may enable the VM to enter a first power management state of the plurality of power management states.
ISA ACCESSIBLE PHYSICAL UNCLONABLE FUNCTION
Techniques for encrypting data using a key generated by a physical unclonable function (PUF) or a virtual PUF key are described. An apparatus according to the present disclosure may include decoder circuitry to decode an instance of a single instruction having a field for an opcode to indicate that execution circuitry is to encrypt at least encrypt secret information from an input data structure with either a physical unclonable function (PUF) generated encryption key or a virtual PUF key, bind the wrapped secret information to an identified target, update the input data structure, generate a MAC over the updated data structure, store the MAC in the input data structure to generate a wrapped output data structure, store the wrapped output data structure having the encrypted secret information and an indication of the target;
NON-POSTED WRITE TRANSACTIONS FOR A COMPUTER BUS
Systems and devices can include a controller and a command queue to buffer incoming write requests into the device. The controller can receive, from a client across a link, a non-posted write request (e.g., a deferred memory write (DMWr) request) in a transaction layer packet (TLP) to the command queue; determine that the command queue can accept the DMWr request; identify, from the TLP, a successful completion (SC) message that indicates that the DMWr request was accepted into the command queue; and transmit, to the client across the link, the SC message that indicates that the DMWr request was accepted into the command queue. The controller can receive a second DMWr request in a second TLP; determine that the command queue is full; and transmit a memory request retry status (MRS) message to be transmitted to the client in response to the command queue being full.
APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SECURE, EFFICIENT MICROCODE PATCHING
An apparatus and method for efficient microcode patching. For example, one embodiment of an apparatus comprises: a package comprising one or more integrated circuit dies, the one or more integrated circuit dies comprising: a plurality of cores; and a security controller coupled to the plurality of cores, a first core of the plurality of cores comprising: a decoder to decode a microcode patching instruction, the microcode patching instruction comprising an operand to be used to identify an address; and execution circuitry to execute the microcode patching instruction, wherein responsive to the microcode patching instruction, the execution circuitry and/or security controller are to: retrieve a microcode patch from a location in memory based on the address, validate the microcode patch, apply the microcode patch to update or replace microcode associated with the one or more integrated circuit dies, and transmit the microcode patch to a persistent storage device; wherein the microcode patch is to be subsequently retrieved from the persistent storage device by one or more external security controllers of one or more external integrated circuit dies, the one or more external security controllers to cause the microcode patch to be applied to update or replace microcode associated with the one or more external integrated circuit dies.