Operating system support for overlapping-ISA heterogeneous multi-core architectures

TLDR

Heterogeneous processors use asymmetric cores to boost performance and throughput, yet operating systems traditionally assume homogeneous hardware, creating significant support challenges. This study investigates operating‑system support for heterogeneous cores with overlapping, non‑identical instruction sets. The authors develop and implement algorithms in the Linux 2.6.24 kernel that transparently schedule and fairly share heterogeneous cores. Evaluation demonstrates efficient management of heterogeneous hardware and significant performance gains across various applications.

Abstract

A heterogeneous processor consists of cores that are asymmetric in performance and functionality. Such a design provides a cost-effective solution for processor manufacturers to continuously improve both single-thread performance and multi-thread throughput. This design, however, faces significant challenges in the operating system, which traditionally assumes only homogeneous hardware. This paper presents a comprehensive study of OS support for heterogeneous architectures in which cores have asymmetric performance and overlapping, but non-identical instruction sets. Our algorithms allow applications to transparently execute and fairly share different types of cores. We have implemented these algorithms in the Linux 2.6.24 kernel and evaluated them on an actual heterogeneous platform. Evaluation results demonstrate that our designs efficiently manage heterogeneous hardware and enable significant performance improvements for a range of applications.