Data prefetch throttle
US7917702B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 10, 2007 |
| Grant date | Mar 29, 2011 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 12, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F12/0862
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A system and method taught herein control data prefetching for a data cache by tracking prefetch hits and overall hits for the data cache. Data prefetching for the data cache is disabled based on the tracking of prefetch hits and data prefetching is enabled for the data cache based on the tracking of overall hits. For example, in one or more embodiments, a cache controller is configured to track a prefetch hit rate reflecting the percentage of hits on the data cache that involve prefetched data lines and disable data prefetching if the prefetch hit rate falls below a defined threshold. The cache controller also tracks an overall hit rate reflecting the overall percentage of data cache hits (versus misses) and enables data prefetching if the overall hit rate falls below a defined threshold.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.