gnupg/mpi/alpha/README

This directory contains mpn functions optimized for DEC Alpha processors.

RELEVANT OPTIMIZATION ISSUES

EV4

1. This chip has very limited store bandwidth.  The on-chip L1 cache is
write-through, and a cache line is transfered from the store buffer to the
off-chip L2 in as much 15 cycles on most systems.  This delay hurts
mpn_add_n, mpn_sub_n, mpn_lshift, and mpn_rshift.

2. Pairing is possible between memory instructions and integer arithmetic
instructions.

3. mulq and umulh is documented to have a latency of 23 cycles, but 2 of
these cycles are pipelined.  Thus, multiply instructions can be issued at a
rate of one each 21nd cycle.

EV5

1. The memory bandwidth of this chip seems excellent, both for loads and
stores.  Even when the working set is larger than the on-chip L1 and L2
caches, the perfromance remain almost unaffected.

2. mulq has a measured latency of 13 cycles and an issue rate of 1 each 8th
cycle.  umulh has a measured latency of 15 cycles and an issue rate of 1
each 10th cycle.  But the exact timing is somewhat confusing.

3. mpn_add_n.  With 4-fold unrolling, we need 37 instructions, whereof 12
   are memory operations.  This will take at least
	ceil(37/2) [dual issue] + 1 [taken branch] = 20 cycles
   We have 12 memory cycles, plus 4 after-store conflict cycles, or 16 data
   cache cycles, which should be completely hidden in the 20 issue cycles.
   The computation is inherently serial, with these dependencies:
     addq
     /   \
   addq  cmpult
     |     |
   cmpult  |
       \  /
        or
   I.e., there is a 4 cycle path for each limb, making 16 cycles the absolute
   minimum.  We could replace the `or' with a cmoveq/cmovne, which would save
   a cycle on EV5, but that might waste a cycle on EV4.  Also, cmov takes 2
   cycles.
     addq
     /   \
   addq  cmpult
     |      \
   cmpult -> cmovne

STATUS