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US 2006/0224832 A1Published application
System and method for performing a prefetch operation
OwnerKimming So, Hon-Chong Ho +1inventors
InventorsKimming So, Hon-Chong Ho, Baobinh Truong
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Abstract
A system and method to support programmable prefetching of one or more lines of instructions or data into cache storage of a computer system is disclosed. A secondary cache is used to avoid the transfer of a line that is currently being used by the processor. Sequential prefetching is made possible by presetting control registers.
Claims20
A prefetch system, wherein the system comprises:
- a memory;
- a primary cache;
- a secondary cache for receiving a current line from the memory, wherein the current line is stored by address as one of a plurality of addressed lines in the secondary cache;
- a processor for requesting a line by address from the secondary cache, wherein the requested line is not in the primary cache;
- if the requested line is in the secondary cache, the primary cache receives the requested line from the secondary cache, else the primary cache receives the requested line from the memory.
2 more elements
A prefetch method, wherein the method comprises:
- transferring a current line from a memory to a secondary cache, wherein the current line is stored by address as one of a plurality of addressed lines in the secondary cache;
- if a cache miss occurs at a primary cache, searching by address for a requested line in the secondary cache;
- and
- if the address of the requested line is found in the secondary cache, transferring the requested line from the secondary cache to the primary cache;
- else, transferring the requested line from the memory to the primary cache.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.