Chih Ying Lin

US Patent:

20190086982, Mar 21, 2019

Filed:

Sep 12, 2018

Appl. No.:

16/129417

Inventors:

- San Diego CA, US
SeyedMajid Zahedi - Durham NC, US
Derek Robert Hower - Durham NC, US
Carl Alan Waldspurger - Palo Alto CA, US
Jeffrey Todd Bridges - Raleigh NC, US
Sanjay Bhikhubhai Patel - Cary NC, US
Gabriel Martel Tarr - Durham NC, US
Chih Kang Lin - Raleigh NC, US
Ryan Donovan Wells - Raleigh NC, US

International Classification:

G06F 1/32

Abstract:

Allocating power between multiple central processing units (CPUs) in a multi-CPU processor based on total current availability and individual CPU quality-of-service (QoS) requirements is disclosed. Current from a power rail is allocated to CPUs by a global current manger (GCM) circuit related to performance criteria set by CPUs. The CPUs can request increased current allocation from the GCM circuit, such as in response to executing a higher performance task. If the increased current allocation request keeps total current on the power rail within its maximum rail current limit, the GCM circuit approves the request to allow the CPU increased current allocation. This can allow CPUs executing higher performance tasks to have a larger current allocation than CPUs executing lower performance tasks without the maximum rail current limit being exceeded, and without having to necessarily lower voltage of the power rail, which could unnecessarily lower performance of all CPUs.