Arm Limited

Frederic Jean Denis Arsanto

Luca Scalabrino

Guillaume Schon

Carlo Dario Fanara

Thomas Gilles Tarridec

Cédric Denis Robert Airaud

Jocelyn Francois Orion Jaubert

Jocelyn François Orion Jaubert

Claire Aupetit

Frederic Claude Marie Piry

Nicolas Chaussade

Albin Pierick Tonnerre

Jean Sébastien Leroy

An apparatus and method are provided for inhibiting instruction manipulation. The apparatus has execution circuitry for performing data processing operations in response to a sequence of instructions from an instruction set, and decoder circuitry for decoding each instruction in the sequence in order to generate control signals for the execution circuitry. Each instruction comprises a plurality of instruction bits, and the decoder circuitry is arranged to perform a decode operation on each instruction to determine from the value of each instruction bit, and knowledge of the instruction set, the control signals to be issued to the execution circuitry in response to that instruction. An input path to the decoder circuitry comprises a set of wires over which the instruction bits of each instruction are provided. Scrambling circuitry is used to perform a scrambling function on each instruction using a secret scrambling key, such that the wire within the set of wires over which any given instruction bit is provided to the decoder circuitry is dependent on the secret scrambling key. The decode operation performed by the decoder circuitry is then adapted to incorporate a descrambling function using the secret scrambling key to reverse the effect of the scrambling function. As a result, independent of which wire any given instruction bit is provided on, the decode operation is arranged when decoding a given instruction to correctly interpret each instruction bit of that given instruction, based on knowledge of the instruction set, in order to determine from the value of each instruction bit the control signals to be issued to the execution circuitry in response to that given instruction.

Apparatus and method for inhibiting instruction manipulation

An electronic circuit includes a plurality of processing elements, a register bank, and a control circuit. The processing elements consume power by processing a plurality of operands to generate a plurality of result values. The register bank has a plurality of registers. The control circuit is configured to determine one or more unused processing elements among the processing elements by snooping one or more incoming operands and an instruction type, control routing of one or more random operands from the register bank to the unused processing elements, and control routing of a random result value generated by one of the unused processing elements into a trash register of the registers. The power consumed by the unused processing elements in the generation of the random result value and a write of the random result value into the trash register temporally blurs a total power consumed by the electronic circuit.

Attack protection by power signature blurring

Data processing circuitry comprises a set of two or more computational units to perform respective computational operations; an instruction decoder to decode successive data processing instructions and, for a given data processing instruction, to control one or more of the computational units to perform those computational operations required to execute the given data processing instruction; and control circuitry responsive to the given data processing instruction, to control one or more others of the computational units to perform further computational operations, other than the computational operations required to execute the given data processing instruction, during execution of the given data processing instruction.

Data processing

An apparatus and method are provided for controlling use of a register cache. The apparatus has execution circuitry for executing instructions to process data values, and a register file comprising a plurality of registers in which to store the data values for access by the execution circuitry. A register cache is also provided that has a plurality of entries and is arranged to cache a subset of the data values for access by the execution circuitry. Each entry is arranged to cache a data value and an indication of the register associated with that cached data value. Prefetch circuitry then performs prefetch operations to prefetch data values from the register file into the register cache. Timing indication storage is used to store, for each data value to be generated as a result of instructions being executed within the execution circuitry, a register identifier for that data value, and timing information indicating when that data value will be generated by the execution circuitry. Cache usage control circuitry is then responsive to receipt of a plurality of register identifiers associated with source data values for a pending instruction yet to be executed by the execution circuitry, to generate, with reference to the timing information in the timing indication storage, a timing control signal to control timing of at least one prefetch operation performed by the prefetch circuitry. Such an approach can lead to significant improvements in the efficiency of utilisation of the register cache.

Apparatus and method for controlling use of a register cache

An apparatus and method are provided for controlling use of a register cache. The apparatus has decode circuitry for decoding instructions retrieved from memory, execution circuitry to execute the decoded instructions in order to perform operations on data values, and a register file having a plurality of registers for storing the data values to be operated on by the execution circuitry. Further, a register cache is provided that comprises a plurality of entries, and is arranged to cache a subset of the data values. Each entry is arranged to cache a data value and an indication of the register associated with that cached data value. Prefetch circuitry is then used to prefetch data values from the register file into the register cache. Further, operand analysis circuitry derives source operand information for an instruction fetched from memory, at least prior to the decode circuitry completing decoding of that instruction. It then causes provision to the prefetch circuitry of at least one register identifier determined from the source operand information. The prefetch circuitry then utilises that at least one register identifier when determining which data values to prefetch into the register cache. Such an approach can significantly increase the hit rate within the register cache, hence improving performance.

An apparatus comprises a set of registers and mapping circuitry to perform a mapping operation to map each of a set of register specifiers to a respective register from among the set of registers in dependence on a mapping function. The mapping function is dependent on a key value. In addition, the mapping for at least two register specifiers from among the set of register specifiers is dependent on the same key value.

Register mapping of register specifiers to registers depending on a key value used for mapping at least two of the register specifiers

A data processing apparatus comprises register rename circuitry for mapping architectural register specifiers specified by instructions to physical registers to be accessed in response to the instructions. Available register control circuitry controls which physical registers are available for mapping to an architectural register specifier by the register rename circuitry. For at least one group of two or more physical registers, the available register control circuitry controls availability of the registers based on a group tracking indication indicative of whether there is at least one pending access to any of the physical registers in the group.

Available register control for register renaming

An apparatus has processing circuitry to perform data processing in one of two or more operating states associated with different levels of privilege. At least one operating state holding element holds a state indication indicating a current operating state of the processing circuitry. In response to a transition of a reset signal from a first value to a second value for triggering a reset of the processing circuitry, the at least one operating state holding element resets the state indication to indicate a default operating state other than a most privileged operating state of the two or more operating states.

Resetting operating state holding element

An apparatus has a number of data holding elements for holding data values which are reset to a reset value in response to a transition of a signal at a reset signal input of the data holding element from a first value to a second value. A reset tree is provided to distribute a reset signal received at root node of the reset tree to the reset signal inputs of the data holding elements. At least one reset attack detection element is provided, with its reset signal input coupled to a given node of the reset tree, to assert an error signal when its reset signal input transitions from the first value to a second value. Reset error clearing circuitry triggers clearing of the error signal, when the reset signal at the root node of the reset tree transitions from the second value to the first value.

Reset attack detection

An apparatus has register rename circuitry to map architectural register specifiers specified by instructions to physical register specifiers identifying physical registers. A restoration table identifies at least one restoration mapping between an architectural register specifier and a previously mapped physical register specifier. Register reserving circuitry indicates one or more reserved register specifiers. In response to detecting that a speculative instruction corresponding to a restoration mapping has been committed when that instruction or an older instruction still could potentially read a register, the register reserving circuitry indicates the physical register specifier of that restoration mapping as reserved.

Register renaming using snapshot buffers

A data processing systemincludes multiple out-of-order issue queues. A master serialization instruction MSI received by a first issue queueis detected by slave generation circuitrywhich generates a slave serialization instruction SSI added to a second issue queue. The master serialization instruction MSI manages serialization relative to the instructions within the first issue queue. The slave serialization instruction SSI manages serialization relative to the instructions within the second issue queue. The master serialization instruction MSI and the slave serialization instruction SSI are removed when both have met their serialization conditions and are respectively the oldest instructions within their issue queues.

Processing queue management

An apparatus and method includes execution circuitry including a wide operand execution unit configured to allow up to N bits of operand data to be processed during execution of a single instruction. Decoder circuitry decodes and generates, for each instruction, at least one control data block identifying an operation to be performed by the execution circuitry and at least two re-combineable control data blocks for the instruction. Issue queue control circuitry then allocates a slot in the issue queue for each of the at least two data blocks and up to M bits of associated operand data, and marks those allocated slots to identify that they contain re-combineable control data blocks. The issue queue control circuitry issues the combined block to said wide operand execution unit along with the operand data contained in each of the allocated slots for said at least two control data blocks.

Data processing apparatus and method for controlling use of an issue queue to represent an instruction suitable for execution by a wide operand execution unit

Register renaming circuitry for a processing apparatus configured to process a stream of instructions from an instruction set specifying registers from an architectural set of registers. The apparatus including a physical set of registers configured to store data values being processed by the processing apparatus. Register renaming circuitry is configured to receive a stream of operations from an instruction decoder and to map registers that are to be written to by the stream of operations to physical registers within the physical set of registers that are currently available. The register renaming circuitry comprises register release circuitry configured to release the physical registers that have been mapped to the registers when a first set of conditions have been met, and to release the physical registers that have been mapped to the additional registers when a second set of conditions have been met.

Technique for freeing renamed registers

A data processing apparatussupports speculative execution and the use of sticky bits. A different version of a sticky bit is associated with each segment of the speculative program flow. The segments of the program flow are separated by speculation nodes corresponding to program instructions which may be followed by a plurality of different alternative program instruction serving as the next program instruction. When a speculation node is resolved, then the segments separated by that speculation node are merged and the sticky bit values for those two segments are merged.

Sticky bit update within a speculative execution processing environment

Within a processing pipelineissue control circuitryserves to arbitrate write port availability when floating point multiplication instructions are issued into a floating point pipelineIf not operating in a flush-to-zero mode, then depending upon the output operands generated denormal handling may or may not be required. A pessimistic assumption is made upon issue that denormal handling will be required and accordingly the write port reserved is a first predetermined number of processing cycles after the start cycle to take account of use of the denormal handling pipeline stagePartway along the processing pipelinestate becomes available which indicates whether or not denormal handling is actually required. If denormal handling is not required and a write port is available one processing cycle earlier, then bypass circuitryserves to bypass the denormal handling pipeline stagesuch that the output operand will be written to the register bankone processing cycle earlier. Write port usage is tracked by a write port usage scoreboardwhich is both read and updated by the bypass circuitrywhen re-arbitrating write port availability partway through a floating point multiplication instruction passing along the pipeline

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Le Rouret, France

Frederic Jean Denis Arsanto