Ordering decoupled metadata accesses in multiprocessors

Hardware support for dynamic analysis can minimize the performance overhead of useful applications such as security checks, debugging, and profiling. To eliminate implementation complexity and improve flexibility, recent hardware proposals have decoupled the processing of the metadata needed for analysis from the application running on the main processor core. However, such decoupling can lead to inconsistencies between application data and analysis metadata in multiprocessor systems. If updates to data and metadata occur in different orders, the analysis can be rendered incorrect, leading to issues such as undetected security attacks or unnecessary program termination. This paper presents a practical hardware solution that ensures consistency between application data and analysis metadata in multiprocessor systems. We use hardware to track the order of data updates and enforce the same ordering on the analogous metadata operations. This solution works for both in-order and out-of-o...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2009
• Where: MICRO
• Authors: Hari Kannan
• Keywords: Analysis Metadata, Hardware, Metadata, MICRO 2009, Multiprocessor Systems