1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to the field of instruction processing in computer systems, and more particularly to an apparatus and method in a CPU for predicting power consumption for executing instructions and counterbalancing or randomizing total power consumption for security purposes by turning on or shutting down selected subsystems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Early computers processed instructions, one at a time, with the instructions appearing on a data/address bus. The data/address bus was electrically visible to a test engineer such that probes could be directly attached to the bus, and the bus could be monitored to determine what instructions were executing. In fact, in embedded system design, it was common for a developer to utilize a test device, such as a state analyzer, to help test and debug his program.
For example, a developer would connect a state analyzer to the data/address bus of his computer, load his program into the memory of the computer, and then reset the computer so that it would begin processing his instructions. The state analyzer would record the instructions being executed on a clock-by-clock basis. The developer could examine the instructions recorded by the state analyzer, and could determine whether his program was executing as planned. In a similar manner, someone wanting to discover what program was operating on a computer could connect a state analyzer to the data/address bus, and could capture the program as it executed (i.e. reverse engineer the code).
With the advent of the microprocessor, testing of program code, and reverse engineering of program code, became more difficult. Early microprocessors utilized address and data buses to obtain their instructions and data from external memory such as ROM's and RAM's. Thus, a state analyzer could be coupled to the address and data buses of a microprocessor to capture the values appearing on the buses on a clock-by-clock basis. Software programs, called disassemblers, were then used to interpret the values appearing on the address and data buses, and convert them into the actual instructions that were being executed by the microprocessor. Thus, state analyzers, along with disassemblers, were used both by software developers for debugging, and by those interested in discovering what someone else had programmed.
As the complexity of microprocessors increased, so did the difficulty of testing (or reverse engineering) the instructions they were executing. For example, modern processors, although they have external data and address buses, cannot successfully be probed to determine what instructions are executing. This is because the values appearing on the address and data buses seldom relate to what the processor is doing at any one time.
More specifically, within a modern microprocessor are large areas of memory (or cache) for both data and instructions. When a processor needs data or instructions that are not already resident within the processor, the processor will request the data/instructions from external memory. It is common, however, for blocks of data/instructions, in addition to those particularly requested, to be transferred back to the processor. So, examination of the external data/address buses during the transfer does not provide any direct correlation to the instructions that are executing. In addition, as is most often the case, the data and instructions that are executing are already resident within internal cache. So, as they execute, there is no activity on the external address/data buses that provide any indication as to what is being executed.
Furthermore, most modern processors are capable of executing multiple instructions at the same time, using a technology referred to as “pipelining”. Although pipelining is beyond the scope of the present discussion, it suffices to say that pipelining in a microprocessor is similar to an assembly line, where an instruction proceeds thru several stages within a processor, each stage performing a certain operation. The instruction is preceded and followed by other instructions, in preceding and following stages in the pipeline. Thus, at any one time, a pipelined microprocessor is executing as many different instructions as there are stages in the pipeline (e.g., a 5 stage pipeline may be executing 5 different instructions).
So, since there is no longer a direct correlation between what appears on the data/address buses of a processor, and the instructions it is executing, and because multiple instructions are typically executing simultaneously, other methodologies have been developed for both software test, and reverse engineering. For software test, a common approach is the use of a simulator. The simulator utilizes a software model of the internal architecture of a processor (such as a VHDL model) to execute a particular program. A trace output from the simulator provides an indication to a developer of how his program should function within a fabricated processor. The simulator is a great tool for the developer, because s/he has access to the internal model of the processor.
The reverse engineer, however, has no access to the internal model of a processor that s/he is trying to decode. Such an internal model is highly proprietary, and closely guarded by the developer. But the reverse engineer has not been thwarted. Rather, a sophisticated science, referred to as “differential power analysis” (DPA), has been developed to speculate or determine the instruction flow within a processor.
In general, certain estimates can be made about the size and thus the power requirements of particular functional blocks (cache, ALU, Register, etc.) of a modern processor. Using these estimates, the total power consumed by a microprocessor can be monitored on a clock-by-clock basis, while the microprocessor is executing instructions. Analysis of the power consumed by the microprocessor, in conjunction with speculated power requirements associated with each of the instructions in the processor's instruction set, can often allow a reverse engineer to accurately speculate or determine the instructions being executed by a processor.
In many cases, such reverse engineering can have devastating consequences. For example, one modern application of a microprocessor is within a smart card. The smart card is much like a credit card. However, it contains a microprocessor that stores confidential information such as a person's bank account number, balance, medical history, social security number, etc. Thus, the developer of a smart card is very interested in preventing the information within the processor from being discovered. Differential power analysis applied to reverse engineer the processor can allow such confidential to be discovered, and utilized, to the detriment of the cardholder.
In view of the above, what is needed is an apparatus that may be used within a microprocessor, to prevent the reverse engineering of the program that is executing on the processor.
More specifically, what is needed is a power management apparatus that can disassociate the power that is consumed by a microprocessor, during instruction execution, from the actual power requirements of those instructions. Such an apparatus, in disassociating the power consumed by the microprocessor, from the instructions it is executing, would thwart a reverse engineer's attempt to discover confidential information using differential power analysis.
Moreover, what is needed is a power management apparatus that turns on or shuts down certain subsystems within the microprocessor, or subsystems that are external to but associated with the microprocessor (i.e., such as a system on a chip), for the purpose of disassociating the instantaneous power drain of the microprocessor from the instructions it is executing.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for an apparatus and method that disassociates the power consumption of a microprocessor based system from the instructions that it is executing.
To address the above-detailed deficiencies, it is an object of the present invention to provide a security system for a microprocessor having multiple subsystems to insure that the power consumption of the microprocessor is not indicative of the instructions that it is executing. The security system includes a power correlator and subsystem inhibition control. The power correlator estimates the power that the microprocessor will consume during execution of instructions. The subsystem inhibition control, utilizes the estimated power, and selectively turns on/off ones of the multiple subsystems within the microprocessor during execution of the instructions. The ones of the multiple subsystems that are turned on/off are selected so as to disassociate the total power consumed by the microprocessor from the instructions it is executing.
In yet another aspect, the present invention provides an apparatus within a processing system having multiple subsystems for randomizing the total power consumed within the processing system. The apparatus includes a random value generator, and subsystem inhibition control. The random value generator generates a random value as instructions are executed by the processing system. The subsystem inhibition control turns on/off selected ones of the multiple subsystems in response to the generated random value. By turning on/off selected ones of the subsystems, the subsystem inhibition control disassociates instructions that are executed from power consumed by the processing system during their execution.
In a further aspect, the present invention provides a computer program product for use with a computing system. The computer program product includes a computer usable medium, having computer readable program code embodied in said medium, for causing a processing system having multiple subsystems to be described. The computer readable program code includes: first program code for providing a power prediction system for providing a predictor of estimated power that will be consumed during execution of instructions by the processing system; and second program code for providing a subsystem inhibition control, coupled to said power prediction system, for receiving said predictor, and for turning on/off selected ones of the subsystems based on the value of said predictor.
Yet a further aspect of the invention provides a method for disassociating the power that is consumed by a microprocessor having multiple subsystems, from the instructions that it is executing. The method includes: estimating the power that will be consumed by each instruction in the microprocessor; and selectively turning on/off ones of the multiple subsystems such that the total power consumed by the microprocessor is unrelated to the instructions that are executing.
In a further aspect, the present invention provides a computer data signal embodied in a transmission medium including computer-readable first program code for providing a power correlator that estimates the power that will be consumed as an instruction executes on a microprocessor having multiple subsystems; and computer-readable second program code for providing subsystem inhibition control, for utilizing the estimated power, and for selectively turning on/off ones of the multiple subsystems within the microprocessor during execution of the instructions.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, and accompanying drawings where:
Referring to
For example, it is possible to characterize functional blocks 103 within a microprocessor 102, such as floating point units, integer Arithmetic Logic Units (ALU's), cache memory systems, etc., in terms of how much power is required for the units to perform a task during a clock cycle. Once such a characterization is done (or estimated), measurement of current consumed by the microprocessor 102 can allow fairly accurate speculation, if not determination, of exactly which instructions are executing on the microprocessor 102, even though the scientists 110 do not have access to programmed instructions, as written, or to the internal buses of the microprocessor 102. And, by determining what the instructions are that are executing on the microprocessor 102, security features of the microprocessor based system 100, may be broken.
Referring now to
For exemplary purposes, a table 220 is provided to illustrate the progression of eight instructions (I1-I8) through the pipeline stages 204-210 of the processor 200. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the current values associated with each of the instructions is illustrative only, and no meaning should be attached to the specific values shown.
During a first clock cycle, instruction I1 is in the W stage 210, instruction I2 is in the M stage 208, instruction I3 is in the A stage 206, and instruction I4 is in the R stage 204. As shown, each of the instructions I1 thru I4 consumes different amounts of power (5-30) depending on what function they are performing, and depending on which pipeline stage they are in. In this illustration, their combined current consumption is 65.
During a second clock cycle, instruction I1 falls out of the pipeline, instructions I2-I4 proceed to the next pipeline stage, and instruction I5 enters the R stage 204. At this point, two things should be understood. First, instructions typically proceed sequentially from the R stage 204, thru to the W stage 210. Second, the amount of current consumed by a particular instruction is not constant through each of the stages. Rather, the current consumed by a particular instruction will often vary from stage to stage, with the amount in each stage determined by the type of instruction executing. In the second clock cycle, the combined current consumption is shown to be 70.
During a third clock cycle, instruction I2 falls out of the pipeline, instructions I3-I5 proceed to the next pipeline stage, and instruction I6 enters the R stage 204. In the third clock cycle, the combined current consumption is shown to be 45.
During a fourth clock cycle, instruction I3 falls out of the pipeline, instructions I4-I6 proceed to the next pipeline stage, and instruction I7 enters the R stage 204. In the fourth clock cycle, the combined current consumption is shown to be 60.
During a fifth clock cycle, instruction I4 falls out of the pipeline, instructions I5-I7 proceed to the next pipeline stage, and instruction I8 enters the R stage 204. In the fifth clock cycle, the combined current consumption is shown to be 80.
The above is particularly illustrated by reference to chart 230 that graphically depicts the total current consumption of the processor 200 during clock cycles 1-5. It is information such as that shown within the chart 230 that is often used to break the security of a microprocessor 200, by determining what instructions are executing on it, on a clock-by-clock basis.
Referring now to
In addition, as the instruction decoder 306 decodes instructions, it provides a signal to the power profile table 308 indicating the instruction that is being decoded. That is, it indicates either the type of instruction (Load, ALU, JMP, etc.), or alternatively, the actual instruction within the instruction set of the microprocessor, which is being decoded. In one embodiment, the signal acts as an index into the power profile table 308 to select one of n different power profile entries in the table.
Each of the entries in the power profile table 308 contains an estimated power value, corresponding to a particular pipeline stage in the microprocessor. For example, the power profile entry associated with instruction I4 indicates that this instruction has a power value of 10 within the F stage, 20 within the R stage, 10 within the A stage, 20 within the M stage, and 10 within the W stage. As an entry in the power profile table 308 is indexed by the instruction decoder 306, the estimated power values are provided to a power profile register 312. In one embodiment, the power profile register 312 contains temporary storage for each of the power profile values for a particular instruction, along with an instruction indicator to designate which of the instructions the power profile entry 308 is associated with. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the values contained in a power profile entry may be determined heuristically by the manufacturer of a microprocessor prior to final fabrication. In addition, it should be appreciated that the power profile values will vary in different processor designs, and with different technologies used to manufacture processors.
Referring now to
Coupled to each of the power profile buffers 414 are power predictors 416. The power predictors 416 extract the particular power profile value within the power profile buffer 414 that is appropriate for its pipeline stage. For example, the predictor 416 in the R stage will extract the R power profile value. The predictor 416 in the A stage will extract the A power profile value, etc.
Thus, for the microprocessor based system 400, at any one time, four distinct power profile values will be extracted by the power predictors 416, corresponding to four distinct instructions executing in the R, A, M and W stages of the pipeline. All of these power profile values are provided to a power correlator 418 for arithmetic combining. In one embodiment, the arithmetic combining is a simple summation of the values. In an alternate embodiment, the arithmetic combining allows predefined weighting to be applied to particular stages and/or allows minimum and maximum thresholds for each of the stages to be met, or substituted, for the values provided by the predictors 416. After the power correlator 418 performs the arithmetic combining, the combined power estimate is provided to a power counterweight 420.
In an alternate embodiment, rather than providing a power profile table 308 within the instruction decoder 302, a portion of the power profile table 308 may be placed within each power predictor 416 that is applicable for the pipeline stage within which the power predictor 416 resides. That is, power profiles for the R stage 404 may be placed within the power predictor 416 associated with the R stage, power profiles for the A stage 406 may be placed within the power predictor 416 associated with the A stage, and so on. Then, as each instruction proceeds thru the pipeline, the power predictor 416 for each pipeline stage indexes into its power profile table 308 and extracts a power profile for the instruction executing in its stage.
The power counterweight 420 receives the combined power estimate from the power correlator 418 and produces a counterweight current 422, the purpose of which is to make the total power consumed by the processor based system 400 to be invariant. That is, given a maximum power consumed by a processor based system 400, whenever the combined power estimate is less than the maximum power, the power counterweight 420 produces a counterweight current 422 that is equal to the maximum power minus the combined power estimate. This can be written as:
Counterweight Current=Max Power−Estimated Power
The maximum power threshold is provided via a maximum power threshold register 460 to the power counterweight 420. The contents of the power threshold register 460 may either be set from a pre-coded default 462, or alternatively, may be established at run-time through software configuration 464.
The power counterweight 420 is also coupled to a subsystem A 490 via an inhibit/burn signal line 492. Thus, as determined by the power counterweight 420, if additional power consumption may be met by turning on (burn) subsystem A 490 within the processor based system 400, the power counterweight indicates such to subsystem A 490 via the inhibit/burn signal line 492. This can be either in place of a counterweight current 422, or in addition to a counterweight current 422. In addition, the power counterweight 420 may also choose to shut down the operation of subsystem A 490, if its functionality is not required during the next clock cycle, by providing an inhibit signal on the inhibit burn signal line 492, thereby reducing the power consumption of the processor based system 400. Such inhibition of subsystem A 490 can be accomplished either in addition to generation of the counterweight current 422, or as an alternative to the counterweight current 422 for the purpose of masking the power consumption of particular instructions that are executing (i.e., systems can be turned off to reduce current consumption in an amount proportional to a predicted value for a current clock cycle or randomly). One skilled in the art should appreciate that the discussion above related to subsystem A is exemplary only. In practice, the processor based system 400 will contain many subsystems (e.g., media processing unit, FPU, I/O circuits, random number generators, DRAM, etc.) that may be turned on even when they are not needed, to increase the power consumption of the processor based system 400, or turned off, to reduce the power consumption of the processor based system 400, as determined by the power counterweight 420. In one embodiment, located within the power counterweight 420 is a table (not shown) containing the on/off power requirements for each of the subsystems within the processor based system 400. Inhibit/burn signal lines 492 are connected to each of the subsystems so that they may be turned on or off as determined by the power counterweight 420. This will be particularly described below with reference to
To illustrate the effect the power predictor 418 and power counterweight 420 have on the total power consumed within the processor based system 400, attention is now directed at
More specifically, during clock cycle 1, instructions I1 thru I4 are found within pipeline stages W-R, respectively. Thus, instructions I1 thru I4 have a combined power consumption of 65. This is shown as current (I) line 534. The power predictor 416 of
During clock cycle 2, the power predictors 416 provide the power estimate values for instructions I2 thru I5 to the power correlator 418 to produce a combined power value of 70. This value is provided to the power counterweight 420. The power counterweight 420 therefore provides a counterweight current 422 with a value of 10 so that a maximum power threshold of 80 is consumed by the processor based system 400. Thus, during clock cycle 2, although the instructions that are executing are different than those executing in clock cycle 1, the total power consumed by the processor based system 400 is the same.
During clock cycle 3, the combined power estimate for instructions I3 thru I6 is 45. This value is provided to the power counterweight 420, to produce a counterweight current 422 of 35. Thus, the maximum power threshold that is consumed by the processor during clock cycle 3 is 80.
During clock cycle 4, the combined power estimate for instructions I4 thru I7 is 60. This value is provided to the power counterweight 420, to produce a counterweight current 422 of 20. Thus, the maximum power threshold that is consumed by the processor during clock cycle 4 is 80.
During clock cycle 5, the combined power estimate for instructions I5 thru I8 is 80. This value is provided to the power counterweight 420, to produce a counterweight current 422 of 0. Thus, the maximum power threshold that is consumed by the processor during clock cycle 5 is 80.
So, in graph 530, although we have different instructions proceeding thru the five pipeline stages during clock cycles 1-5, with different combined power consumption values (shown by line 534), the total power consumed remains at 80 (shown by line 532). This is because the power counterweight 420 produces a differential counterweight current 422, illustrated by shaded area 536.
Referring now to
Referring to
The processor 700 includes a fetch stage 702, a register stage 704, an ALU stage 706, a memory stage 708, and a write stage 710. Coupled to the fetch stage 702 (or alternatively the register stage 704) is a total power predictor 716. The total power predictor 716 is used to predict the total power that will be consumed during each clock cycle by instructions in the pipeline stages 704-710, similar to the power predictor 416 of
Operationally, for each clock cycle of the microprocessor 700, the random number generator 742 provides a random value to the counterweight generator 740. The counterweight generator 740 then generates a random counterweight current 744 that is proportional to the random value provided by the random number generator 742. By adding the random counterweight current 744 to the power already consumed by the executing instructions, the total power consumed by the microprocessor 700 will be disassociated with the instructions it is executing, as will particularly illustrated below with reference to
Referring now to
During the first clock cycle, instructions I1 thru I4 have a power consumption of 65. In addition, the random number generator 742 provides a random value to the counterweight generator 740 to produce a random counterweight current 744 of 15. So, the total power consumed by the microprocessor is 80.
During the second clock cycle, instructions I2 thru I5 have a power consumption of 70 (5 more than in clock cycle 1). In addition, the random number generator 742 provides a random value to the counterweight generator 740 to produce a random counterweight current 744 of 5. So, the total power consumed by the microprocessor is 75. So, during clock cycle 2, even though the total power consumed by instructions I2 thru I5 is greater than the instructions executing during clock cycle 1, the total power consumed by the microprocessor 700 is 5 less than during clock cycle 1.
During the third clock cycle, instructions I3 thru I6 have a power consumption of 45. In addition, the random number generator 742 provides a random value to the counterweight generator 740 to produce a random counterweight current 744 of 40. So, the total power consumed by the microprocessor is 85. So, during clock cycle 3, even though the total power consumed by instructions I3 thru I6 is less than the instructions executing during clock cycles 1 or 2, the total power consumed by the microprocessor 700 is greater than during those clock cycles.
During the fourth clock cycle, instructions I4 thru I7 have a power consumption of 60. In addition, the random number generator 742 provides a random value to the counterweight generator 740 to produce a random counterweight current 744 of 10. So, the total power consumed by the microprocessor is 70.
During the fifth clock cycle, instructions I5 thru I8 have a power consumption of 80. In addition, the random number generator 742 provides a random value to the counterweight generator 740 to produce a random counterweight current 744 of 15. However, in this instance, the counterweight current 744, plus the estimated power consumption of 80, exceeds a maximum power threshold of 85. So, the counterweight generator with limiter 740 limits the random counterweight current 744 to a value of 5, resulting in a total power consumption of 85.
What has been illustrated with respect to
The above-described embodiments disassociate the instantaneous power drain of the processor, either by randomizing the clock-by-clock power drain, or by maintaining a constant power drain. In most instances, this is performed by adding a counterweight current. It is also desirable, as mentioned above with reference to
Referring to
Within the power prediction system 920 are subsystem power profiles 921 and subsystem inhibition/selection control 923. In one embodiment, the subsystem power profiles 921 provide an indication to the power prediction system 920 of the amount of power that each subsystem consumes when it is powered on. The power prediction system 920 utilizes the information contained in the subsystem power profiles 921 to select particular ones of the subsystems 990, 991, 993 to be powered down. The subsystem inhibition/selection control 923 works in conjunction with the power prediction system 920 to select particular ones of the subsystems 990, 991, 993 to be shut down as will now be described with reference to
During a first clock cycle, the power prediction system receives a power predictor 919 from the power correlator 918 and determines that the cumulative power drain in all stages of the microprocessor 900 will be less than a predetermined threshold. Rather than adding a counterweight current, the power prediction system 920 determines which of the subsystems 990, 991, 993 are available to be shut down, via the inhibit/burn signal lines 992, and communicates how much “counterweight” current is needed to maintain a constant power drain. The subsystem inhibition/selection control 923 utilizes the subsystem power profiles 921 to select an available subsystem to shut down. In this instance, subsystem A 990 provides the appropriate counterweight current, and is turned on, via inhibit/burn signal line 992.
During clock cycle 2, the power prediction system 920 determines that the predetermined power drain can be maintained by turning off subsystems A 990 and C 993, and therefore utilizes the subsystem inhibition/selection control 923 to turn off these subsystems.
During clock cycle 3, the power prediction system determines that to maintain a constant power drain, subsystems A 990, B 991, and C 993 must all be turned on, and therefore turns them on via inhibit/burn signal lines 992.
During clock cycle 4, the power prediction system determines that to maintain a constant power drain, subsystems A 990, and C 993 must be turned off, and therefore turns them off via inhibit/burn signal lines 992.
During clock cycle 5, the power prediction system determines that to maintain a constant power drain, subsystem B 991 must be turned off, and therefore turns it off via inhibit/burn signal lines 992.
At this point, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the microprocessor 900 has maintained a constant power drain during clock cycles 1-5 while draining less power than the embodiment described above with respect to
Referring now to
While not specifically described above, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the ability to turn on or off particular subsystems within a microprocessor, to disassociate instantaneous power drain from the actual power required to execute instructions, may be used as described in
Although the present invention and its objects, features, and advantages have been described in detail, other embodiments are encompassed by the invention as well. In addition to implementations of the invention using hardware, the invention can be embodied in a computer usable (e.g., readable) medium configured to store a computer readable program code. The program code causes the enablement of the functions or fabrication, or both, of the invention disclosed herein. For example, this can be accomplished through the use of general programming languages (e.g., C, C++, etc.), hardware description languages (HDL) including Verilog HDL, VHDL, AHDL (Altera Hardware Description Language) and so on, or other programming and/or circuit (i.e., schematic) capture tools available in the art. The program code can be disposed in any known computer usable medium including semiconductor memory, magnetic disk, optical disc (e.g., CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, etc.) and as a computer data signal embodied in a computer usable (e.g., readable) transmission medium (e.g., carrier wave or any other medium including digital, optical or analog-based medium). As such, the code can be transmitted over communication networks including the Internet and intranets. It is understood that the functions accomplished by the invention as described above can be represented in a core (e.g., a microprocessor core) that is embodied in programming code and may be transformed to hardware as part of the production of integrated circuits. Also, the invention may be embodied as a combination of hardware and software.
In addition, the present invention has been particularly characterized in terms of a CPU or microprocessor. In particular, the embodiments of the present invention described with reference to
Furthermore, the discussion above has not attempted to describe the operation of the invention within the nuances of modern processor instruction flow. That is, one skilled in the art will appreciate that instruction flow within a pipeline microprocessor is often non-sequential, with flow being interrupted by branches, error conditions, etc. In addition, it is common for instruction flow to stall or slip for a number of cycles, either when waiting on following pipeline stages to complete an operation, or when retrieving/storing data from/to memory. Such discussion has been removed so that the reader will more readily understand the invention. However, while not shown, it should be understood that the counterweight current of the present invention, particularly, the power counterweight block 420, shadows the pipeline of the processing system. That is, the counterweight bock 420 is coupled to the interlock control of a processing system, and the power predictor 416 is coupled not only to the decoder, but also to the instruction pointer (and next instruction pointer) so that they may properly estimate and control the counterweight current in relation to the actual instruction flow of a modern processing system, regardless of slips or stalls in processing.
Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they can readily use the disclosed conception and specific embodiments as a basis for designing or modifying other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention, and that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/894,812, filed Jun. 28, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,976,178, entitled “A METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DISASSOCIATING POWER CONSUMED WITHIN A PROCESSING SYSTEM WITH INSTRUCTIONS IT IS EXECUTING”, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/665,099 filed Sep. 20, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,625,737, entitled “SYSTEM FOR PREDICTION AND CONTROL OF POWER CONSUMPTION IN DIGITAL SYSTEMS”, both commonly assigned to MIPS Technologies, Inc.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 09894812 | Jun 2001 | US |
Child | 11257381 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 09665099 | Sep 2000 | US |
Child | 09894812 | US |