KR101869325B1 - Core allocation apparatus in different multi-core - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a core allocation data storage unit for storing core allocation information defining core information and a method for designating a core in a thread, a processor for allocating the core to each of the threads using core information and core allocation information stored in the core allocation data storage unit And a binder unit for connecting the cores according to the assignment instruction of the scheduler and the scheduler for each thread.

Description

[0001] CORE ALLOCATION APPARATUS IN DIFFERENT MULTI-CORE [0002]

The present invention relates to a core allocation apparatus in a heterogeneous multicore environment, and more particularly, to a core allocation apparatus in a heterogeneous multi-core environment in which a core is allocated to each thread in a heterogeneous multicore environment in which a plurality of services or jobs are processed by threads. ≪ / RTI >

Recently, in the IT market, users are increasingly demanding high-performance low-power processors, and application programs are changing to a mode of handling multiple services at the same time. In order to cope with these requirements, Improving performance with a processor is evolving into a multiprocessor or multi-core environment that uses multiple processors because of problems.
Conventional multiprocessing has employed a multiprocessing approach using a homogeneous processor (general purpose processor) or a homogeneous multi-core system created by combining several specially designed single processors.
A homogeneous multicore system handles the processing of multimedia data to be executed by dividing it into multiple processors. However, since the processors in a multicore are the same general-purpose processor (core), when processing a thread with various characteristics, So that the performance improvement is limited.
FIG. 1 shows a method of allocating a core when performing a conventional multi-thread operation.
In the conventional method, whenever a new thread is created in the main process, the thread is sequentially allocated one by one in the available processor core list to process the thread.
This method is not problematic when using a homogeneous multicore chip made up of the same kind of ASIP (Application Specific Instruction-Set Processor) core in which all cores have the same instruction set, but when the individual cores are different types of ASIP cores There is a performance problem.
For example, when allocating cores to the thread 1 in FIG. 1, since the conventional method is allocated sequentially, the core 3 allocates the core 1 even if it is the most suitable core (processor) for executing the thread 1.
This method is not suitable for heterogeneous multi-core environments. In order to achieve the best performance, it is necessary to find and allocate a core suitable for each thread, thereby achieving a remarkable improvement in performance.
Conventionally, as a method of assigning a core to a thread in a heterogeneous multicore environment, a technique for reducing power consumption and a processor area when a thread is executed by redesigning a hardware structure for thread execution has been disclosed.
However, this method has a problem of redesigning the hardware structure.
The background art of the present invention is disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2008-0076392 (2008.08.20).

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an ASIP (Application Specific Instruction Set Processor) core having a different instruction set, And an object of the present invention is to provide a core allocation apparatus in a heterogeneous multicore environment in which a suitable ASIP core is allocated.

A core allocation apparatus in a heterogeneous multicore environment according to an aspect of the present invention includes: a core allocation data storage unit for storing core allocation information defining core information and a method of specifying a core in a thread; A scheduler for allocating the cores to each of the threads using the core information and the core allocation information stored in the core allocation data storage unit; And a binder unit connecting the cores according to the scheduling instruction of the scheduler.

According to the present invention, by assigning a core to each thread according to a preset core type, or by finding an optimum core allocation method through an automatic search function and allocating a proper core for each thread, the number of processors is increased in a multi- Which improves the performance of the system, which could not be implemented in such a way.

1 is a diagram showing a conventional sequential core allocation method.
2 is a block diagram of a core allocation apparatus in a heterogeneous multicore environment according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a diagram illustrating an example of assigning a core to a thread according to a core type set in a thread in a heterogeneous multicore environment according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the number of possible combinations when using the core type specified in the thread of Fig. 3; Fig.
5 is a diagram illustrating a method of allocating a core to a thread using an automatic search function according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the number of possible combinations when assigning threads to the entire core type of FIG. 5; FIG.

Hereinafter, a core allocation apparatus in a heterogeneous multicore environment according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this process, the thicknesses of the lines and the sizes of the components shown in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity and convenience of explanation. In addition, the terms described below are defined in consideration of the functions of the present invention, which may vary depending on the intention or custom of the user, the operator. Therefore, definitions of these terms should be made based on the contents throughout this specification.
2 is a block diagram of a core allocation apparatus in a heterogeneous multicore environment according to an embodiment of the present invention.
1, a core allocation apparatus in a heterogeneous multicore environment according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a core allocation data storage unit 230, a core search engine unit 220, a scheduler 240, (250).
The core allocation data storage unit 230 includes core allocation information defining core information and a method of allocating cores to the threads.
Here, the core information includes various types of information about the core, and in particular, core types defined according to characteristics of the core.
The core allocation information defines how to allocate a core to a thread, and can be variously defined depending on whether or not the core is assigned to the thread.
That is, when the core type is designated to the thread, the core allocation information is defined as a method of allocating a core corresponding to the core type designated for each thread to the thread.
However, when the core type is not specified in the thread, the core is combined with each core type for each thread, and the performance according to the result of each combination is evaluated, and then the best combination of these is defined as the optimal combination. The core allocation information is generated by the core search engine unit 220.
If the core type is not specified in the thread as described above, the core search engine unit 220 reads the core information from the core allocation information storage unit, checks the core type for each core, and sets each core type core Thereby generating optimum core allocation information, and recording the generated core allocation information in the core allocation information storage unit.
That is, when the core type is not specified by the user, the core search engine unit 220 reads the core information from the core allocation information storage unit, allocates cores for each thread, And searches for the optimal core allocation information after evaluating the performance. When the optimum core allocation information is generated as a result of the search, the core allocation data storage unit 230 stores the core allocation information.
The scheduler 240 allocates cores to the threads using the core information and the core allocation information stored in the core allocation data storage unit 230. [
As described above, the scheduler 240 allocates cores for each thread according to the core allocation information if the core allocation information having the core type specified for each thread is stored.
However, if the core type information generated by the core search engine unit 220 is not stored for each thread and the core type information is stored for each thread, the core allocation information generated by the core search engine unit 220 is stored in the core .
The binder unit 250 allocates and connects the cores to the threads according to the allocation instruction of the scheduler 240 so that each of the threads is executed on the core assigned to each of the threads.
That is, as described above, the core allocation apparatus in the heterogeneous multicore environment according to the embodiment of the present invention allocates cores on a thread-by-thread basis based on the core allocation information.
In this case, if a core type is designated for each thread by a user or the like, a core belonging to a core type assigned to the thread is allocated to the thread, whereas if the core type is not designated for each thread, After searching the entire search area for all possible combinations of threads for each thread, evaluating the performance, determining the optimal core allocation information, and allocating the core for each thread.
For reference, the heterogeneous multicore in this embodiment classifies an ASIP (Application Specific Instruction-Set Processor) core that implements a specific instruction set into a limited number of core types according to characteristics, Are grouped so as to exhibit similar performance with respect to each other.
Hereinafter, the process of assigning a core to a thread will be described in more detail, if the thread is assigned a core type or not.
3 is a diagram illustrating an example of assigning a core to a thread according to a core type set in a thread in a heterogeneous multicore environment according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the number of combinations when possible.
For reference, in this embodiment, the core type is divided into a core type A (360), a core type B (370), a core type C (380) and a core type D (390) The core type B 370 includes the core B3, the core type C 380 includes the core C4 and the core C5, the core type D 390 includes the core D6, D7 will be described as an example.
The core A0 361, core A1 362 and core A2 363 belonging to the core type A 360 individually have slightly different performance for a specific thread work but different core types B 370 ), Core type C (380) and core type D (390).
However, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but may be further divided into various core types, and each core type includes all the various numbers of cores included.
First, if a core type is specified for each thread, it can be used when both the characteristics of the thread and the characteristics of the core type are known.
In this case, the scheduler 240 receives the core allocation information from the core allocation data storage unit 230, and also provides information on the core type when the thread is generated.
In this case, since the core type is designated for each thread in the core allocation information, the scheduler 240 assigns a usable core among the core types belonging to the core type.
3, since the core type to be allocated to the thread 0 320 is the core type A 360, it is preferable that at least one of the core A 0, the core A 1 and the core A 2 This is possible.
The same applies to the remaining core type B, core type C and core type D.
4, there are three methods of allocating cores to the four threads 320, 330, 340 and 350: three types of core type A 360, one type of core type B 370, two types of core type C 380 Branch type, and core type D (390), and multiplying each case gives a total of 12 cases.
Thus, when a core type is assigned to a thread, some performance difference may occur between each combination of assigning a core to a thread. However, since each core type is classified according to its performance, a large performance difference does not occur.
The following describes the process of assigning a core to a thread if the thread is not assigned a core.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a method of assigning a core to a thread using an automatic search function according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of assigning a core Fig.
If the user does not specify the core type for each thread, the core search engine unit 220 is used to find the entire search area for all possible combinations of core types for each thread, evaluate the performance, Determine information.
5, the generated thread 1 510 may be executed in the core type A 550, but the remaining core type B 560, core type C 570, core type D 580 ). ≪ / RTI >
In addition to the core type A (550), the core type A (550), the core type C (570), and the core type A (550) Core Type D (580).
That is, thread 1 510, thread 2 520, thread 3 530, and thread 4 540 may be performed by all core types.
Accordingly, the core search engine 220 searches all the possible combinations, determines an optimal method of allocating the cores through performance evaluation for each of the possible combinations, and stores the core allocation information in the core allocation data storage unit 230 .
Thus, when the program is executed in the future, optimum performance can be achieved by executing the program on an optimum core for each thread.
FIG. 6 shows that there are 24 different methods because the number of permutations possible is 4! (4x3x2x1) as a permutation if possible in all cases shown in FIG.
Since this method performs performance evaluation for all possible combinations, it is possible to obtain the most optimal core allocation information.
As described above, in the ASIP core-based multicore multi-thread system optimized for different task processes, the core is divided into a plurality of core types corresponding to threads, and a core type optimized for the thread The performance of the system can be greatly improved as compared with a method of simply allocating the cores to the threads sequentially.
While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. I will understand. Accordingly, the technical scope of the present invention should be defined by the following claims.

220: core search engine unit 230: core assignment data storage unit
240: scheduler 250: binder part

Claims (12)

A core allocation data storage unit for storing core allocation information that defines core information including information on a core type among a plurality of core types grouped according to characteristics of the core and a method for specifying the core type in a thread;
A scheduler for selecting one core among a plurality of cores included in the core type specified in the thread using the core information and the core allocation information stored in the core allocation data storage unit and assigning the selected core to the thread; And
And a binder unit for connecting the thread and the allocated core according to a scheduling instruction of the scheduler. delete The method according to claim 1,
The plurality of core types having different characteristics,
Wherein the core is classified into one of the plurality of core types according to the characteristic. delete The method according to claim 1,
The scheduler includes:
And allocates usable cores among the cores corresponding to the core types assigned to the threads. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a core search engine for generating new core allocation information based on the core information if a manner of assigning the core to the thread is not defined. The method according to claim 6,
The core search engine unit,
A core allocation data storing unit for storing the core allocation data in the core allocation data storing unit, the core allocation data storing unit for storing the core allocation data, Device. 8. The method of claim 7,
The core search engine unit,
Evaluating performance based on the combination result, and determining a core allocation method based on the evaluated performance to generate the new core allocation information. 9. The method of claim 8,
The core search engine unit,
And generates the combination result by the number of assigning any one of a plurality of different core types to each of the plurality of different threads. The method according to claim 6,
The scheduler includes:
And receives the new core allocation information generated by the core search engine unit from the core allocation data storage unit when the manner of designating the core to the thread is not defined. Storing core allocation information for specifying the core type in a thread and core information including information on a core type defined according to core characteristics in a core allocation data storage unit;
Selecting a core of a plurality of cores included in the core type and assigning the core to the thread when the core type is designated to the thread;
If the core type is not specified in the thread, the core search engine unit receives the core information and generates new core allocation information specifying the core in the thread; And
Wherein the core allocation data storage stores the new core allocation information and the scheduler allocates the core to the thread based on the new core allocation information. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the step of generating the new core allocation information comprises:
Combining all the core types for each thread; And
And evaluating performance based on the result of the combination to select a core allocation method.

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