Compression architecture for system memory application

A computer system with a partitioned memory architecture, comprising:

• (a) at least one processor unit;
• (b) a memory for storing data;
• (c) a compression engine for compressing and decompressing data transmitted to and received from the memory;
• (d) a memory control unit coupled to the processor unit, the memory, and the compression engine, the memory control unit operating to control transmission of data to and from the processor unit, the memory, and the compression engine;
• wherein the memory comprises:
• (i) a cache for storing uncompressed data, the cache being partitioned from a first portion of the memory;
• (ii) a compressed storage for storing compressed data, the compressed storage being partitioned from a second portion of the memory non-overlapping the first portion;
• and
• (iii) a setup table, coupled to the compressed storage, for specifying locations of compressed data stored within the compressed storage, the setup table being partitioned from a third portion of the memory non-overlapping the first portion and the second portion;
• and
• (e) a cache directory, coupled to the cache and separate from the first, second and third portions of the memory, for specifying locations of data stored within the cache, wherein the cache directory provides high-speed access to the uncompressed data when present in the cache.

A method for providing high speed memory accesses where at least a portion of the data is compressed, comprising the steps of:

• storing uncompressed data in a cache, the cache being partitioned from a first portion of a computer memory;
• storing compressed data in a compressed storage, the compressed storage being partitioned from a second portion of the computer memory non-overlapping the first portion;
• providing a setup table for specifying locations of compressed data stored within the compressed storage, the setup table being partitioned from a third portion of the computer memory non-overlapping the first portion and the second portion;
• providing a cache directory, independent of the setup table, for specifying locations of uncompressed data stored within the cache;
• and
• accessing the uncompressed data within the cache via the cache directory when requested data is located within the cache, and accessing the compressed data within the compressed storage via the setup table when there is a cache miss and the requested data is located within the compressed storage.

A memory architecture for use with a computer, comprising:

• a cache for storing uncompressed data, the cache being partitioned from a first portion of a memory;
• a compressed storage for storing compressed data, the compressed storage being partitioned from a second portion of the memory non-overlapping the first portion;
• a setup table, coupled to the compressed storage, for specifying locations of compressed data stored within the compressed storage for memory accesses directed to the compressed storage, the setup table being partitioned from a third portion of the memory non-overlapping the first portion and the second portion;
• and
• a cache directory independent of the setup table and coupled to the cache to maintain a predetermined number of the most recently accessed data locations by removing the least recently used data location upon receiving a new data location not currently stored in the cache directory, and to provide locations of cached data stored within the cache for memory accesses directed to the cache.