Patent · US Expired

Apparatus and method to facilitate self-correcting memory

US6859904B2 · kind B2 · utility

10Cited by
8References
20Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMay 11, 2001
Grant dateFeb 22, 2005
Priority date
Expiry dateDec 26, 2022

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F11/1064
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that facilitates self-correcting memory in a shared-memory system. The system includes a main memory coupled to a memory controller for reading and writing memory locations and for marking memory locations that have been checked out to a cache. The system also includes a processor cache for storing data currently in use by a central processing unit. A communication channel is coupled between the processor cache and the memory controller to facilitate communication. The memory controller includes an error detection and correction mechanism and also includes a mechanism for reading data from the processor cache when a currently valid copy of the data is checked out to the processor cache. When the data is returned to the memory subsystem from the cache, the error detection and correction mechanism corrects errors and stores a corrected copy of the data in the main memory.

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