Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090119432 | Starvation Prevention Scheme for a Fixed Priority PCE-Express Arbiter with Grant Counters using Arbitration Pools - Method and apparatus for arbitrating prioritized cycle streams in a manner that prevents starvation. High priority and low priority arbitration pools are employed for arbitrating multiple input cycle streams. Each cycle stream contains a stream of requests of a given type and associated priority. Under normal circumstances in which resource buffer availability for a destination device is not an issue, higher priority streams are provided grants over lower priority streams, with all streams receiving grants. However, when a resource buffer is not available for a lower priority stream, arbitration of high priority streams with available buffer resources are redirected to the low priority arbitration pool, resulting in generation of grant counts for both the higher and lower priority streams. When the resource buffer for the low priority stream becomes available and a corresponding request is arbitrated in the high priority arbitration pool, a grant for the request can be immediately made since grant counts for the stream already exist. | 05-07-2009 |
20110289241 | AUTODETECTION OF A PCI EXPRESS DEVICE OPERATING AT A WIRELESS RF MITIGATION FREQUENCY - A computer system that detects for a PCI Express compliant endpoint device is described. Specifically, the computer system clocks transmit and receive circuits at a first frequency and initiates a training sequence. If the endpoint device successfully trains at the first frequency, the endpoint device is PCI Express compliant. Otherwise, the computer system initiates another training sequence at a second frequency. | 11-24-2011 |
20120005386 | METHOD, APPARATUS AND SYSTEM FOR MAINTAINING TRANSACTION COHERECY IN A MULTIPLE DATA BUS PLATFORM - Techniques for maintaining an order of transactions in a multi-bus computer architecture. In an embodiment, an arbitrator receives access requests from a plurality of requestors, each access request requesting a respective access to a bus. Based on an arbitration between the access requests—e.g. between those requestors providing the access requests—the arbitrator may generate a grant message which triggers a carrying of a first message on the first bus. In certain embodiments, the grant message further triggers another carrying of the first message on the second bus. | 01-05-2012 |
20130007483 | METHOD AND APPARATUS TO REDUCE IDLE LINK POWER IN A PLATFORM - A method and apparatus to reduce the idle link power in a platform. In one embodiment of the invention, the host and its coupled endpoint(s) in the platform each has a low power idle link state that allows disabling of the high speed link circuitry in both the host and its coupled endpoint(s). This allows the platform to reduce its idle power as both the host and its coupled endpoint(s) are able to turn off their high speed link circuitry in one embodiment of the invention. | 01-03-2013 |
20130083794 | Aggregating Completion Messages In A Sideband Interface - In one embodiment, the present invention includes a method for receiving a request in a router from a first endpoint coupled to the router, where the request is for an aggregated completion. In turn, the router can forward the request to multiple target agents, receive a response from each of the target agents, and consolidate the responses into an aggregated completion. Then, the router can send the aggregated completion to the first endpoint. Other embodiments are described and claimed. | 04-04-2013 |
20130083798 | Sending Packets With Expanded Headers - In one embodiment, the present invention is directed to method for receiving a packet in a first agent, where the packet includes a first packet header with an expanded header indicator. Based on this indicator, the agent can determine if the packet includes one or more additional packet headers. If so, the agent can next determining if it supports information in the additional packet header based on a header identifier of the additional header. Other embodiments are described and claimed. | 04-04-2013 |
20130086139 | Common Idle State, Active State And Credit Management For An Interface - In one embodiment, the present invention includes method for entering a credit initialization state of an agent state machine of an agent coupled to a fabric to initialize credits in a transaction credit tracker of the fabric. This tracker tracks credits for transaction queues of a first channel of the agent for a given transaction type. The agent may then assert a credit initialization signal to cause credits to be stored in the transaction credit tracker corresponding to the number of the transaction queues of the first channel of the agent for the first transaction type. Other embodiments are described and claimed. | 04-04-2013 |
20130086288 | Supporting Multiple Channels Of A Single Interface - In one embodiment, the present invention includes a method for receiving a request for a transaction from a first agent in a fabric and obtaining an address, a requester identifier, a tag, and a traffic class of the transaction, and determining a channel of a target agent to receive the transaction based on at least two of the address, the requester identifier, the tag, and the traffic class. Based on this channel determination, the transaction can be sent to the channel of the target agent. Other embodiments are described and claimed. | 04-04-2013 |
20130086296 | Providing Multiple Decode Options For A System-On-Chip (SoC) Fabric - In one embodiment, a system-on-chip (SoC) can be configured to receive a request from a master agent in a fabric coupled to the master agent, send a show command grant to the master agent responsive to selection of the request by the fabric, receive a command portion of a transaction corresponding to the request in the fabric and determine a target agent to receive the transaction based on the command portion, and thereafter send a transaction grant to the master agent for the transaction. Other embodiments are described and claimed. | 04-04-2013 |
20130086433 | Providing Error Handling Support To Legacy Devices - In one embodiment, the present invention includes a method for handling a request received in an agent designed in accordance with a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) specification using PCI Express™ semantics. More specifically, responsive to determining that the agent does not support the request, an unsupported request detection register of the agent can be updated, and a response sent from the agent to indicate that the agent does not support the request. Other embodiments are described and claimed. | 04-04-2013 |
20130086586 | Issuing Requests To A Fabric - In one embodiment, a method includes determining whether producer-consumer ordering rules have been met for a first transaction to be sent from a source agent to a target agent via a fabric, and if so a first request for the first transaction is sent from the source agent to the fabric in a first clock cycle. Then a second request can be sent from the source agent to the fabric for a second transaction in a pipelined manner. Other embodiments are described and claimed. | 04-04-2013 |
20130138858 | Providing A Sideband Message Interface For System On A Chip (SoC) - According to one embodiment, a system on a chip includes multiple agents each corresponding to an intellectual property (IP) logic and a fabric to couple the agents. The fabric can include a primary message interface and a sideband message interface. The fabric further includes one or more routers to provide out-of-band communications between the agents via this sideband message interface. To effect such communication, the router can perform a subset of ordering rules of a personal computer (PC)-based specification for sideband messages. Other embodiments are described and claimed. | 05-30-2013 |
20130212311 | INTER-COMPONENT COMMUNICATION INCLUDING SLAVE COMPONENT INITIATED TRANSACTION - Component apparatuses with inter-component communication capabilities, and system having such component apparatuses are disclosed. A component may include a number of control pins including a clock pin, a number of data pins, and a logic unit. The logic unit may be configured to receive a clock signal from another component through the clock pin, to provide an alert signal to the other component through a selected one of the control and data pins to initiate a transaction with the other component, to receive in response to the alert signal from the other component through the data pins a status request to determine nature of the transaction, and to provide in response to the status request to the other component through the data pins a status to indicate the nature of the transaction. Other embodiments may be disclosed or claimed. | 08-15-2013 |
20140258492 | AGGREGATING COMPLETION MESSAGES IN A SIDEBAND INTERFACE - In one embodiment, the present invention includes a method for receiving a request in a router from a first endpoint coupled to the router, where the request is for an aggregated completion. In turn, the router can forward the request to multiple target agents, receive a response from each of the target agents, and consolidate the responses into an aggregated completion. Then, the router can send the aggregated completion to the first endpoint. Other embodiments are described and claimed. | 09-11-2014 |
20140258578 | Supporting Multiple Channels Of A Single Interface - In one embodiment, the present invention includes a method for receiving a request for a transaction from a first agent in a fabric and obtaining an address, a requester identifier, a tag, and a traffic class of the transaction, and determining a channel of a target agent to receive the transaction based on at least two of the address, the requester identifier, the tag, and the traffic class. Based on this channel determination, the transaction can be sent to the channel of the target agent. Other embodiments are described and claimed. | 09-11-2014 |
20140258583 | Providing Multiple Decode Options For A System-On-Chip (SoC) Fabric - In one embodiment, a system-on-chip (SoC) can be configured to receive a request from a master agent in a fabric coupled to the master agent, send a show command grant to the master agent responsive to selection of the request by the fabric, receive a command portion of a transaction corresponding to the request in the fabric and determine a target agent to receive the transaction based on the command portion, and thereafter send a transaction grant to the master agent for the transaction. Other embodiments are described and claimed. | 09-11-2014 |
20140289435 | Issuing Requests To A Fabric - In one embodiment, a method includes determining whether producer-consumer ordering rules have been met for a first transaction to be sent from a source agent to a target agent via a fabric, and if so a first request for the first transaction is sent from the source agent to the fabric in a first clock cycle. Then a second request can be sent from the source agent to the fabric for a second transaction in a pipelined manner. Other embodiments are described and claimed. | 09-25-2014 |
20140334582 | MEASURING TIME OFFSETS BETWEEN DEVICES WITH INDEPENDENT SILICON CLOCKS - Methods and apparatus relating to measuring time offsets between devices with independent silicon clocks are described. In some embodiments, logic is provided to synchronize a first clock of a first agent with a second clock of a second agent based on one or more messages exchanged between the first agent and the second agent and a platform time. The first agent and the second agent are coupled via a link. Other embodiments are also disclosed and claimed. | 11-13-2014 |
20150012681 | Common Idle State, Active State And Credit Management For An Interface - In one embodiment, the present invention includes method for entering a credit initialization state of an agent state machine of an agent coupled to a fabric to initialize credits in a transaction credit tracker of the fabric. This tracker tracks credits for transaction queues of a first channel of the agent for a given transaction type. The agent may then assert a credit initialization signal to cause credits to be stored in the transaction credit tracker corresponding to the number of the transaction queues of the first channel of the agent for the first transaction type. Other embodiments are described and claimed. | 01-08-2015 |
20150019788 | Providing A Sideband Message Interface For System On A Chip (SoC) - According to one embodiment, a system on a chip includes multiple agents each corresponding to an intellectual property (IP) logic and a fabric to couple the agents. The fabric can include a primary message interface and a sideband message interface. The fabric further includes one or more routers to provide out-of-band communications between the agents via this sideband message interface. To effect such communication, the router can perform a subset of ordering rules of a personal computer (PC)-based specification for sideband messages. Other embodiments are described and claimed. | 01-15-2015 |
20150067412 | Providing Error Handling Support To Legacy Devices - In one embodiment, the present invention includes a method for handling a request received in an agent designed in accordance with a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) specification using PCI Express™ semantics. More specifically, responsive to determining that the agent does not support the request, an unsupported request detection register of the agent can be updated, and a response sent from the agent to indicate that the agent does not support the request. Other embodiments are described and claimed. | 03-05-2015 |