Verification of cache prefetch mechanism
US6412046B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 1, 2000 |
| Grant date | Jun 25, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 1, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F12/0862
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and apparatus automatically and easily verifies a cache line prefetch mechanism. The verification method includes a strict definition of which cache lines should be prefetched and which cache lines should not. The method also emphasizes unusual operating conditions. For example, by exercising boundary conditions, the method by stresses situations in which a microprocessor or chip is likely to produce errors. The method can verify prefetch without having to access or view any internal signals or buses inside the chip. The method can be adopted in any system-level verification methodology in simulation, emulation, or actual hardware. The method can be used in a system-level test set up along with a chip-level test set up without requiring knowledge of the internal state of the chip. In this case, checking is done at the chip boundary. The method is automated and performs strict checks on overprefetch, underprefetch, and the relative order in which fetch and prefetches must occur.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.