Multi-bank memory access method and apparatus
AssigneeCisco Technology, Inc.
InventorsJames P. Rivers, Scott A. Emery
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Data is stored in a memory in a manner which eliminates dead time which occurs when the number of words in a page which are read-out are insufficient to provide enough time for simultaneously opening the next page. If the length of a frame being stored in memory is not an exact integral multiple of words in a page, a penultimate (or earlier) page is written with fewer words than the page can hold. This allows additional words to be placed into the last page, sufficient to provide every page used for storing a frame at least a number of words equal to the number of clock cycles needed for opening a next page.
Claims19
A method for storing into an electronic memory a multiple-data-word frame said frame defining a number of data words in said frame, said electronic memory having a plurality of pages, said pages having a number of words in each page, the method comprising:
- determining a number of extra words in said frame as the number of words in a frame modulo the number of words in a page from the plurality of pages;
- storing the words of said frame into the plurality of pages of the electronic memory wherein at least two of said plurality of pages stores a number of words which is less than a page width of the electronic memory.
Apparatus for storing into an electronic memory a multiple-data-word frame said frame defining a number of data words in said frame, said electronic memory having a plurality of pages, said pages having a number of words in each page, the method comprising:
- means for determining a number of extra words in said frame as the number of words in the frame modulo the number of words in a page from the plurality of pages;
- means for storing the words of said frame into the plurality of pages of the electronic memory wherein at least two of said plurality of pages stores a number of words which is less than a page width of the memory.
Apparatus for storing into an electronic memory a multiple-data-word frame said frame defining a number of data words in said frame, said electronic memory having a plurality of pages, said pages having a number of words in each page, the method comprising:
- a computer configured to receive the frame and calculate a number of extra words in said frame as the number of words in the frame modulo the number of words in a page from the plurality of pages;
- a memory management unit in said computer, coupled to said electronic memory, said memory management unit controlled to store the words of said frame into the plurality of pages of the electronic memory wherein at least two of said plurality of pages stores a number of words which is less than a page width of the electronic memory.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.