Software-Based Online Detection of Hardware Defects Mechanisms, Architectural Support, and Evaluation

As silicon process technology scales deeper into the nanometer regime, hardware defects are becoming more common. Such defects are bound to hinder the correct operation of future processor systems, unless new online techniques become available to detect and to tolerate them while preserving the integrity of software applications running on the system. This paper proposes a new, software-based, defect detection and diagnosis technique. We introduce a novel set of instructions, called Access-Control Extension (ACE), that can access and control the microprocessor’s internal state. Special firmware periodically suspends microprocessor execution and uses the ACE instructions to run directed tests on the hardware. When a hardware defect is present, these tests can diagnose and locate it, and then activate system repair through resource reconfiguration. The software nature of our framework makes it flexible: testing techniques can be modified/upgraded in the field to trade off perfor...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2007
• Where: MICRO
• Authors: Kypros Constantinides, Onur Mutlu, Todd M. Austin, Valeria Bertacco
• Keywords: Hardware, Hardware Defect, MICRO 2007, Silicon Process Technology, Such Defects