| 摘要 |
A system and method for maintaining cache coherency in a shared memory multiprocessor system. A plurality of multiprocessor elements are coupled to a network. The multiprocessor elements include a local cache memory, a local cache directory, a plurality of remote memory controllers, and a network interface chip which couples multiple processing elements to the network. A partial directory cache is stored in the local memory of the network interface unit. The partial directory cache is accessed to locate which one of the multiprocessing elements has a requested data element in the event of a local cache miss. Since the partial directory is stored in the local memory system of the network interface unit, this reduces the need to access the full directory stored in the slower, off-chip shared memory system. In the event of a miss in the partial directory cache, the full directory list stored in the off-chip shared memory system is accessed to find the location of the requested data element.
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