Compression status caching
US8862823B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 19, 2008 |
| Grant date | Oct 14, 2014 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 20, 2032 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F2212/466
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
One embodiment of the present invention sets forth a compression status cache configured to store compression information for blocks of memory stored within an external memory. A data cache unit is configured to request, in response to a cache miss, compressed data from the external memory based on compression information stored in the compression status bit cache. The compression status for active buffers is dynamically swapped into the compression status cache as needed. Different compression formats may be specified for one or more tiles within an active buffer. One advantage of the disclosed compression status cache is that a lame amount of attached memory may be allocated as compressible memory blocks, without incurring a corresponding die area cost because a portion of the compression status stored off chip in attached memory is cached in the compression status cache.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.