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Patent Title: System and method that progressively prefetches additional lines to a distributed stream buffer as the sequentiality of the memory accessing is demonstrated

Assignee: IBM
Patent Number: US5664147
Issue Date: 09-02-1997
Application Number:
File Date:08-24-1995

Abstract: Within a data processing system implementing L1 and L2 caches and stream filters and buffers, prefetching of cache lines is performed in a progressive manner. In one mode, data may not be prefetched. In a second mode, two cache lines are prefetched wherein one line is prefetched into the L1 cache and the next line is prefetched into a stream buffer. In a third mode, more than two cache lines are prefetched at a time. As a result, additional cache lines are progressively prefetched to a data cache as the sequentiality of the accessing of cache lines in memory is demonstrated through sequential addressing requests along a data stream. Furthermore, the stream is physically distributed. In other words, at least one line, but not all lines, of the stream are placed within the cache.

Notes:

Link to USPTO

IBM Pledge dated 1/11/2005