Patent ID: 9086986
Filing Date: 2015-07-21
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A method for detecting a conflict between a transaction and a TLB (Translation Lookaside Buffer) shootdown in a transactional memory in which a TLB shootdown operation message is received by a processor to invalidate at least one entry in a TLB of said processor corresponding to at least one page, the method comprising: providing a data structure having entries for pages touched by said transaction and having further entries for page sizes of said touched pages; providing a table having entries for page sizes of said touched pages, each page size entry of said table indicating an associated set of index bit positions corresponding to each page size; tracking, by said processor, using said data structure, said pages touched by said transaction; determining, by said processor, whether said received TLB shootdown operation message is associated with one of said touched pages, said determining comprising: checking said table for an entry indicating whether a page size associated with said received TLB shootdown operation message is tracked by using said data structure; aborting, by said processor, said transaction in response to determining that there exists no entry in said table which corresponds to said page size associated with said received TLB shootdown operation message, and responsive to determining an entry corresponding to said associated page size exists in said table, checking said data structure, using said associated page size and said set of index bit positions, for an entry indicating said TLB shootdown operation message conflicts with one of said pages touched by said transaction; and aborting said transaction in response to determining that said received TLB shootdown operation message conflicts with said one of said touched pages.