Patent ID: 8281080

Claim:
A method for modifying an information unit, using an atomic operation, the method comprising the stages of: receiving, over a first bus, a request, from a first requesting component to initiate a snooping type atomic operation associated with an information unit located at a first address of a memory module, the information unit comprising a semaphore and the snooping type atomic operation comprising monitoring the memory module to determine if the information unit was modified and not preventing other components from accessing the memory module; providing the information unit over the first bus to the first requesting component; reading the information unit and determining if the information unit should be modified to an updated information unit, and if the answer is positive: attempting to complete the snooping type atomic operation that is associated with the updated information unit, wherein the attempt to complete includes an atomic write operation of the updated information unit; and defining the snooping type atomic operation as a failed atomic operation if during the receiving, providing, reading, and attempting, the first address was moved from an unlocked state to a locked state as a result of a locking type atomic operation over the first bus, the locking type atomic operation comprising an operation locking the memory module that stores the information unit until the information unit is updated.