Intel Corporation

Mikal Hunsaker

Michael T Klinglesmith

Blaise B Fanning

Sridhar Lakshmanamurthy

Robert P Adler

Su Wei Lim

Joseph Murray

Rohit R Verma

Eran Tamari

Zhenyu Zhu

Ricardo E James

Darren L Abramson

Karthi R Vadivelu

Kar Leong Wong

David J Harriman

Paul S Diefenbaugh

Ilan Pardo

Robert E Gough

Yuval Bachrach

Hooi Kar Loo

Gideon Prat

Rafi Ben-Tal

Mohan Nair

Ting Lok Song

Khee Wooi Lee

Gary J Lavelle

Amit Kumar Srivastava

Ronald W Swartz

Asad Azam

Vui Yong Liew

Chai Huat Gan

Rajesh Bhaskar

Navtej Singh

Ohad Falik

Nitin V Sarangdhar

Zohar Bogin

Andrew W Martwick

Michael W Williams

Joseph A Bennett

Michael N Derr

William A Stevens, Jr

Lily Pao Looi

Michael W Leddige

Shaun M Conrad

Anoop Mukker

Kenneth Foust

Satheesh Chellappan

Steve John Clohset

Kevin B Stanton

Poh Thiam Teoh

Mark T Feuerstraeter

Robert N Murdoch

Bryan L Spry

Serafin E Garcia

Robert R Fulton

Enrico David Carrieri

Raul N Gutierrez

Christopher J Lake

William Knolla

Prasanna C Shah

Young Min Park

Kah Meng Yeem

Anthony S Bock

Siang Lin Tan

Rajesh Raman

Hung Huynh

Kie Woon Lim

Adit D Tarmaster

Hartej Singh

Ming Chew Lee

Chee How Goh

Thian Aun Tan

L Mark Elzinga

Shashitheren Kerisnan

Siow Hoay Lim

Gim Chong Lee

Ngeok Kuan Wai

Li Len Lim

Chee Siong Lee

Jagannadha Rao V V V Rapeta

Bret T Connell

David R Mulvihill

Rahul Bhatt

Joel L Finkel

Lean Kim Ong

Described is an apparatus comprising a first interface, a second interface, a third interface, and an interconnection fabric. The first interface may transfer a first stream of data traffic. The second interface, which may be an enhanced Serial Peripheral Interface (eSPI) interface, may transfer a second stream of data traffic and a third stream of data traffic. The third interface may transfer a fourth stream of data traffic. The interconnection fabric may couple the first interface to the second interface and may couple the second interface to the third interface. The second interface may initiate a transfer of an outbound data stream from one of the second stream of data traffic or the third stream of data traffic based on an available-space credit indicator. The second interface may receive an inbound data stream based upon the outbound data stream.

Low power data processing offload using external platform component

Apparatuses and methods relating to an enhanced serial peripheral interface (eSPI) port expander circuitry are described. In an embodiment, an apparatus includes an upstream eSPI port, a plurality of downstream eSPI ports, and an eSPI aggregator. The upstream eSPI port is to operate as an eSPI slave on an upstream eSPI bus. Each of the plurality of downstream eSPI ports is to operate as an eSPI master on a corresponding one of a plurality of downstream eSPI buses. The eSPI aggregator is to forward or broadcast transactions from the upstream eSPI bus to one or more of the plurality of downstream eSPI buses and to aggregate responses from one or more of the downstream eSPI buses.

Enhanced serial peripheral interface (eSPI) port expander

Embodiments include a serial bus controller that may be coupled to an in band serial peripheral interface (SPI) link, to request a write of data and a subsequent read of the data from a memory device and in response to the request to read the data, receive a bit error report and optionally correct the bit error over the in band SPI link. Embodiments include a memory device, e.g., a flash memory device, to detect and report the bit error over the in band SPI link, where the flash memory device, in response to a request to write and/or erase data, calculates or determines an error correction code (ECC) and stores corresponding parity data. In embodiments, after receiving a subsequent request to read the data, the flash memory device accesses the stored parity data to check the ECC for a bit error and if a bit error is detected, reports the detected bit error over the in band SPI link. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.

Apparatus, systems, and methods to detect and/or correct bit errors using an in band link over a serial peripheral interface

Method and apparatus associated with clocking synchronization are disclosed herein. In various embodiment, a method for communication comprises: entering a clock training period, on successful performance of clock training handshake; entering a start static phase measurement (SSPM) sequence of clock training period, receiving a recovered clock; and processing the recovered clock to determine parts-per-million (PPM) differences, to be subsequently applied to compensate for the PPM differences determined during subsequent clocking synchronization. Linking training is performed after the subsequent clocking synchronization. In various embodiments, clocking synchronization comprises SSC synchronization. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.

Clocking synchronization method and apparatus

In one embodiment, a flash sharing controller is to enable a plurality of components of a platform to share a flash memory. The flash sharing controller may include: a flash sharing class layer including a configuration controller to configure the plurality of components to be flash master devices and configure a flash sharing slave device for the flash memory; and a physical layer coupled to the flash sharing class layer to communicate with the plurality of components via a bus. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

System, apparatus and method for sharing a flash device among multiple masters of a computing platform

Methods, systems and apparatuses may provide for technology that includes a system on chip (SoC) having a root of trust and an embedded controller to conduct functional safety operations and non-functional safety operations with respect to the SoC. The technology may also include an enhanced serial peripheral interface (eSPI) coupled to the SoC and the embedded controller, wherein the eSPI is to tunnel communications associated with the functional safety operations between the embedded controller and the root of trust.

Tunneling functional safety communications over an enhanced serial peripheral interface

An embedded controller is provided for a computer, including a processor, first one or more logic elements providing a serial peripheral interface (SPI) module to communicatively couple the embedded controller to an SPI bus as an SPI slave, and second one or more logic elements providing a platform environment control interface (PECI)-over-SPI engine, to build an SPI packet providing an encapsulated PECI command and send a notification to an SPI master that the packet is available.

Platform environment control interface tunneling via enhanced serial peripheral interface

A first signal may be received from a memory device at a first interconnect terminal of a number of interconnect terminals via a serial communication interface that indicates the memory device includes a NAND type memory device. Whether a second signal that indicates the NAND type memory device is initialized has been received from the memory device at a second interconnect terminal of the number of interconnect terminals may be determined. An operation associated with the NAND type memory device may be performed at the second interconnect terminal and a third interconnect terminal in response to determining the second signal has been received from the memory device indicating the NAND type memory device is initialized.

Non-volatile memory using a reduced number of interconnect terminals

Aspects of the embodiments are directed to systems, methods, and apparatuses for controlling power management states using a clock request message across a 3.3 volt GPIO pin. Systems can include a CPU root port to transmit to a platform controller hub (PCH) compliant with a PCIe protocol, a first clock request message, the first clock request message comprising a first bit set to assert a clock request transmit (CLKREQ TX assert) on a 3.3 volt general purpose input/output (GPIO) pin local to the PCH; detect that a connected device is entering into a power management state; and transmit, from the CPU root port, to the PCH, a second clock request message, the second clock request message comprising the first bit set to deassert the clock request transmit (CLKREQ TX deassert) and a second bit to assert a clock request protocol (CLKREQ#) on a 3.3 volt GPIO pin.

Method, apparatus, and system for power management on a CPU die via clock request messaging protocol

In one embodiment, an apparatus includes: an interface controller to receive a request from an external device coupled to the apparatus to access a flash memory coupled to the apparatus, the request comprising an access request to a replay protection monotonic counter (RPMC) of the flash memory; and a flash controller coupled to the interface controller. In turn, the flash controller includes: an atomic sequencer to arbitrate accesses to the RPMC by a plurality of components; and a mapper to map the access request to a selected counter of the RPMC associated with the external device. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

System, apparatus and method for replay protection for a platform component

In one embodiment, a host controller includes: a first credit tracker comprising at least one credit counter to maintain credit information for a first device; and a first credit handler to send a command code having a first predetermined value to indicate a credit request to request credit information from the first device, where the first credit tracker is to update the at least one credit counter based on receipt of an in-band interrupt from the first device having the credit information. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

System, apparatus and method for hardware-based bi-directional communication via reliable high performance half-duplex link

A method implemented by a system on a chip (SOC) system executing an enhance serial peripheral interconnect (eSPI) master. The method to receive an alert from an eSPI slave, send a get out of band message to the eSPI slave, and receive an out of band message from the eSPI slave including a connection or disconnection command. The method enabling the SOC to include an embedded multiplexor for managing the role of a universal serial bus (USB) Type-C connector.

Inband messaging method for integrated type-C universal serial bus detection using enhanced serial peripheral interconnect

In some embodiments, an electronic system includes a processor, a memory in communication with the processor, a bus in communication with the processor, an Express Card controller coupled to the bus, the Express Card controller providing an interface to an external device, a USB3 controller coupled to the bus and in communication with the Express Card controller, and a PCIE controller coupled to the bus and in communication with the Express Card controller. The Express Card controller may be configured to determine whether the external device is a USB3 device or a PCIE device and to switch between the USB3 controller and the PCIE controller based on the state of a USB3 select pin strap. Other embodiments are disclosed and claimed.

Dual bus standard switching bus controller

A method and apparatus to reduce the idle link power in a platform. In one embodiment of the invention, the host and its coupled endpoint(s) in the platform each has a low power idle link state that allows disabling of the high speed link circuitry in both the host and its coupled endpoint(s). This allows the platform to reduce its idle power as both the host and its coupled endpoint(s) are able to turn off their high speed link circuitry in one embodiment of the invention.

Method and apparatus to reduce idle link power in a platform

In one embodiment, the present invention is directed to method for receiving a packet in a first agent, where the packet includes a first packet header with an expanded header indicator. Based on this indicator, the agent can determine if the packet includes one or more additional packet headers. If so, the agent can next determining if it supports information in the additional packet header based on a header identifier of the additional header. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Sending packets with expanded headers

Growing community of inventors

El Dorado Hills, CA, United States of America

Mikal Hunsaker