Patent · US Expired

Input/output cache with mapped pages allocated for caching direct (virtual) memory access input/output data based on type of I/O devices

US5263142A · kind A · utility

65Cited by
7References
5Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateDec 28, 1992
Grant dateNov 16, 1993
Priority date
Expiry dateDec 28, 2012

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F13/28
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

An I/O cache is provided to a computer system comprising a main memory and a number of DVMA/DMA I/O devices for caching I/O data between the main memory and the DVMA/DMA I/O devices. The I/O cache selectively caches the I/O data in accordance to the device class types of the DVMA/DMA devices. The I/O cache comprises an I/O cache data array, an I/O cache address tag array, an I/O cache mapper, and I/O cache control logic. The I/O cache data array comprises a number I/O cache lines, each having a number of I/O cache blocks, for storing I/O data between the main memory and the DVMA/DMA devices. The I/O cache tag comprises a number of corresponding I/O cache address tag entries, each having a number of I/O cache address tags and associated control information, for storing address and control information for the I/O data stored in the I/O cache lines. The I/O cache mapper maps the dynamically or statically allocated I/O buffers in main memory of each DVMA/DMA device having a cacheable device class type to a set of dynamically or statically assigned unique I/O cache buffers in the I/O cache data array, thereby ensuring that no two DVMA/DMA devices with cacheable I/O data will share the s…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.