System for context switching between processing elements in a pipeline of processing elements

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United States Patent

6101599

Link to this page

http://www.wikipatents.com/6101599.html

Inventor(s)

Wright; Michael L. (Raleigh, NC); Key; Kenneth Michael (Raleigh, NC); Kerr; Darren (Palo Alto, CA); Jennings; William E. (Cary, NC)

Abstract

A system and technique facilitate fast context switching among processor complex stages of a pipelined processing engine. Each processor complex comprises a central processing unit (CPU) core having a plurality of internal context switchable registers that are connected to respective registers within CPU cores of the pipelined stages by a processor bus. The technique enables fast context switching by sharing the context switchable registers between upstream and downstream CPUs to, inter alia, force program counters into the downstream registers. In one aspect of the inventive technique, the system automatically reflects (shadows) the contents of an upstream CPU's context switchable registers at respective registers of a downstream CPU over the processor bus. In another aspect of the invention, the system redirects instruction execution by the downstream CPU to an appropriate routine based on processing performed by the upstream CPU.

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5872963 Bitar 712/233 Feb,1999	Your vote accepted [0 after 0 votes]		5838915 Klausmeier 709/215 Nov,1998	Your vote accepted [0 after 0 votes]
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