Multiprocessor cache coherence based on virtual memory support

Karin Petersen, Kai Li

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Virtual-memory-based cache coherence is a mechanism that relies only on hardware that already exists on the microprocessors of a shared-memory multiprocessor system, yet dynamically detects and resolves potential cache inconsistencies using virtual-memory techniques. The key feature of the approach is that the virtual-memory translation hardware on each processor is used to detect shared accesses that could lead to memory incoherencies, and VM page fault handlers execute the appropriate actions to maintain cache coherence. VM-based cache coherence basically trades off design simplicity for increased software overheads. The work presented in this paper evaluates this trade-off. We show that VM-based cache coherence performs well for scientific applications that require significant aggregate memory bandwidth.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)158-178
Number of pages21
JournalJournal of Parallel and Distributed Computing
Volume29
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 1995

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Software
  • Theoretical Computer Science
  • Hardware and Architecture
  • Computer Networks and Communications
  • Artificial Intelligence

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