MECHANISM FOR PROGRAMMABLE MODIFICATION OF MEMORY MAPPING GRANULARITY
First Claim
1. An apparatus for providing programmable minimum memory page sizes, the apparatus comprising:
- a pagegrain register, configured to prescribe a minimum page size, in default, according to a legacy memory management protocol, and in alternative, as one of the programmable minimum memory page sizes according to an extended memory management protocol; and
a memory management unit (MMU), coupled to said pagegrain register, configured to store a plurality of page table entries (PTEs), each of said plurality of PTEs specifying a page granularity for a corresponding physical memory page, wherein said page granularity is bounded by said minimum page size, said MMU comprising;
page granularity logic, configured to determine a page size for said corresponding physical memory page, wherein said page size is determined based on said minimum page size and said page granularity.
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Abstract
An apparatus and method are provided that enable system designers to have programmable minimum memory page sizes. The apparatus has a memory management unit (MMU) for storing a plurality of page table entries (PTEs) and a pagegrain register for prescribing a minimum page size. Each of the PTEs in the MMU specifies a page granularity for a corresponding physical memory page, where the page granularity is bounded by the minimum page size. The MMU has and page granularity logic. The page granularity logic determines a page size for the corresponding physical memory page. The page size is determined based on the minimum page size and the page granularity. The pagegrain register prescribes the minimum page size, in default, according to a legacy memory management protocol, and in alternative, as one of the programmable minimum memory page sizes according to an extended memory management protocol.
42 Citations
37 Claims
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1. An apparatus for providing programmable minimum memory page sizes, the apparatus comprising:
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a pagegrain register, configured to prescribe a minimum page size, in default, according to a legacy memory management protocol, and in alternative, as one of the programmable minimum memory page sizes according to an extended memory management protocol; and
a memory management unit (MMU), coupled to said pagegrain register, configured to store a plurality of page table entries (PTEs), each of said plurality of PTEs specifying a page granularity for a corresponding physical memory page, wherein said page granularity is bounded by said minimum page size, said MMU comprising;
page granularity logic, configured to determine a page size for said corresponding physical memory page, wherein said page size is determined based on said minimum page size and said page granularity. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A computer program product for use with a computing device, the computer program product comprising:
a computer usable medium, having computer readable program code embodied in said medium, for causing a CPU to be described, said CPU being capable of sizing memory pages according to a legacy memory management technique or an extended memory management technique, said computer readable program code comprising;
first program code, for describing a memory management unit (MMU), said MMU configured to store page table entries (PTEs), each of said PTEs prescribing a page granularity for a corresponding physical memory page, wherein said page granularity is bounded by a minimum page size;
second program code, for describing page granularity logic within said MMU, and being configured to establish a page size for said corresponding physical memory page, wherein said page size is established as a function of a minimum page size and said page granularity; and
third program code, for describing a pagegrain register, said pagegrain register being coupled to said MMU, said pagegrain register configured to specify said minimum page size, in default, according to said legacy memory management technique, and in alternative, according to said extended memory management technique. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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19. A computer data signal embodied in a transmission medium, comprising:
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first computer-readable program code, for describing a memory management unit (MMU), said MMU configured to store page table entries (PTEs), each of said PTEs specifying a page granularity for a corresponding physical memory page, wherein said page granularity is bounded by a minimum page size;
second computer-readable program code, for describing page granularity logic within said MMU, said page granularity logic configured to determine a page size for said corresponding physical memory page, wherein said page size is determined based on said minimum page size and said page granularity; and
third computer-readable program code, for describing a pagegrain register coupled to said MMU, said pagegrain register configured to prescribe said minimum page size, in default, according to a legacy memory management protocol, and in alternative, according to an extended memory management protocol.
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28. A method for providing programmable minimum memory page sizes, the method comprising:
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within a memory management unit (MMU), storing page table entries (PTEs), wherein each of the PTEs prescribes a page granularity for a corresponding physical memory page, and wherein the page granularity is bounded by a minimum page size;
initiating contents of a pagegrain register to designate the minimum page size such that address translation comports with a legacy memory management protocol;
programming the contents of the pagegrain register to designate the minimum page size such that address translation comports with an extended memory management protocol; and
determining a page size for the corresponding physical memory page based on the page granularity and said programming.
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37. A virtual memory system, for providing programmable minimum memory page sizes, the virtual memory system comprising:
a central processing unit (CPU), for accessing instructions/data within a physical memory, wherein access of said instructions/data is controlled according to a legacy virtual memory management protocol or an extended virtual memory management protocol, said CPU comprising;
a pagegrain register, configured to prescribe a minimum page size, in default, according to said legacy memory management protocol, and in alternative, as one of the programmable minimum memory page sizes according to said extended memory management protocol; and
a memory management unit (MMU), coupled to said pagegrain register, configured to store a plurality of page table entries (PTEs), each of said plurality of PTEs specifying a page granularity for a corresponding physical memory page, wherein said page granularity is bounded by said minimum page size, said MMU comprising;
page granularity logic, configured to determine a page size for said corresponding physical memory page, wherein said page size is determined based on said minimum page size and said page granularity.
Specification