SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MONITORING HARDWARE OBSERVATION POINTS WITHIN A SYSTEM ON A CHIP (SoC)

摘要

Systems and methods for monitoring hardware observation points within a System on a Chip (SoC) are disclosed. In one embodiment, a monitoring system includes observers electrically coupled to corresponding hardware observation points. For each observation time period, the observer receives events from a corresponding hardware observation point and outputs observation data indicative of the number of events received. Each observer operates in the same clock and power domain as the corresponding hardware observation point. The hardware monitoring system includes collectors; each collector receives the observation data from a corresponding observer for the observation time period(s). Each collector updates a value of a live-counter based on the observation data and outputs the value of the live-counter. By counting the number of events at the hardware observation points, the monitoring system can enable detailed runtime monitoring, which can be used, e.g., for optimizing future hardware iterations and to support software power optimizations.

主权项

1. A monitoring system within a System on a Chip (SoC) for monitoring a plurality of hardware observation points within the SoC, comprising:
a plurality of observers electrically coupled to the plurality of hardware observation points in the SoC, each observer among the plurality of observers adapted to, for each observation time period of one or more observation time periods for the observer:
receive a number of events from a corresponding hardware observation point among the plurality of hardware observation points during the observation time period, wherein the observer and the corresponding hardware observation point operate in the same clock and power domain of the SoC; andoutput observation data indicative of the number of events received from the corresponding hardware observation point during the observation time period; and a plurality of collectors, each collector among the plurality of collectors adapted to:
receive the observation data from a corresponding observer among the plurality of observers for the one or more observation time periods for the corresponding observer;update a value of a live-counter based on the observation data from the corresponding observer for each of the one or more observation time periods for the corresponding observer; andoutput the value of the live-counter.