Apple inc. (20240126457). Dynamic Allocation of Cache Memory as RAM simplified abstract

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Dynamic Allocation of Cache Memory as RAM

Organization Name

apple inc.

Inventor(s)

Rohit Natarajan of Sunnyvale CA (US)

Jurgen M. Schulz of Pleasanton CA (US)

Christopher D. Shuler of Davis CA (US)

Rohit K. Gupta of Santa Clara CA (US)

Thomas T. Zou of Millbrae CA (US)

Srinivasa Rangan Sridharan of Santa Clara CA (US)

Dynamic Allocation of Cache Memory as RAM - A simplified explanation of the abstract

This abstract first appeared for US patent application 20240126457 titled 'Dynamic Allocation of Cache Memory as RAM

Simplified Explanation

The patent application describes an apparatus with a cache controller circuit and a cache memory circuit that can reallocate a portion of the cache memory to directly-addressable RAM by excluding certain cache lines from cache operations.

  • The cache controller circuit receives a request to reallocate a portion of the cache memory that is currently in use.
  • The request identifies an address region corresponding to one or more cache lines.
  • In response to the request, the cache controller circuit converts the identified cache lines to directly-addressable RAM by excluding them from cache operations.

Potential Applications

This technology could be applied in:

  • High-performance computing systems
  • Data centers
  • Network routers

Problems Solved

  • Efficient memory management
  • Improved system performance
  • Enhanced data processing speed

Benefits

  • Increased system efficiency
  • Reduced latency
  • Enhanced overall performance

Potential Commercial Applications

Optimizing Memory Allocation in High-Performance Computing Systems

Possible Prior Art

One possible prior art could be the use of cache memory in computer systems to improve data access speeds.

Unanswered Questions

How does this technology impact power consumption in the system?

The article does not address the potential impact of this technology on power consumption.

Are there any limitations to the size of the cache memory that can be reallocated to directly-addressable RAM?

The article does not specify any limitations on the size of cache memory that can be converted to directly-addressable RAM.


Original Abstract Submitted

an apparatus includes a cache controller circuit and a cache memory circuit that further includes cache memory having a plurality of cache lines. the cache controller circuit may be configured to receive a request to reallocate a portion of the cache memory circuit that is currently in use. this request may identify an address region corresponding to one or more of the cache lines. the cache controller circuit may be further configured, in response to the request, to convert the one or more cache lines to directly-addressable, random-access memory (ram) by excluding the one or more cache lines from cache operations.