FILL PARTITIONING OF A SHARED CACHE

摘要

Fill partitioning of a shared cache is described. In an embodiment, all threads running in a processor are able to access any data stored in the shared cache; however, in the event of a cache miss, a thread may be restricted such that it can only store data in a portion of the shared cache. The restrictions to storing data may be implemented for all cache miss events or for only a subset of those events. For example, the restrictions may be implemented only when the shared cache is full and/or only for particular threads. The restrictions may also be applied dynamically, for example, based on conditions associated with the cache. Different portions may be defined for different threads (e.g. in a multi-threaded processor) and these different portions may, for example, be separate and non-overlapping. Fill partitioning may be applied to any on-chip cache, for example, a L1 cache.

主权项

1. A method of managing memory in a processor, the method comprising:
allowing unrestricted access to any data stored in a shared cache in the processor; in response to a cache miss event associated with a thread running in the processor, using a fill partitioning policy to select a location within a defined portion of the shared cache; and storing content of a memory location associated with the cache miss event in the selected location in the shared cache; and dynamically switching on and off use of the fill partitioning policy to select a location based on one or more of: thread ID and cache conditions.