System for combining requests associated with one or more memory locations that are collectively associated with a single cache line to furnish a single memory operation
First Claim
1. A computer system comprising:
- a memory including memory locations that are collectively associated with a cache line;
a peripheral device adapted to furnish a stream of data; and
bridge circuitry coupled between the memory and the peripheral device, the bridge circuitry comprising;
a first interface adapted to convert a portion of the stream of data into a first write request;
a queue adapted to store a second request;
logic adapted to determine if the first and second requests target memory locations are collectively associated with a cache line and based on the determination, selectively combine the first and second requests; and
a second interface adapted to furnish a memory operation in response to the combination of the first and second requests by the logic.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus are for use with a computer system. Write requests to store data in one or more memory locations that are collectively associated with a cache line are received. The first requests are combined to furnish a memory operation. The computer system may include a peripheral device that furnishes a stream of data to be stored in a memory, and the apparatus may include first and second interfaces, a queue and logic. The first interface is adapted to convert a portion of the stream of data into a first request, and the queue is adapted to store the second request. The logic is adapted to determine if the first and second requests target memory locations that are collectively associated with a cache line and based on the determination, selectively combine the first and second requests. The second interface is adapted to furnish a memory operation in response to the combination of the first and second requests. The requests may be, as examples, read requests and/or write requests.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. A computer system comprising:
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a memory including memory locations that are collectively associated with a cache line;
a peripheral device adapted to furnish a stream of data; and
bridge circuitry coupled between the memory and the peripheral device, the bridge circuitry comprising;
a first interface adapted to convert a portion of the stream of data into a first write request;
a queue adapted to store a second request;
logic adapted to determine if the first and second requests target memory locations are collectively associated with a cache line and based on the determination, selectively combine the first and second requests; and
a second interface adapted to furnish a memory operation in response to the combination of the first and second requests by the logic. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
a first memory adapted to store the second request; and
a second memory adapted to store data associated with the second request.
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8. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the first and second requests comprise write requests.
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9. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the first and second requests comprise read requests.
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10. An apparatus for use with a computer system including a peripheral device that furnishes a stream of data to be stored in a memory, the apparatus comprising:
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a first interface adapted to convert a portion of the stream of data into a first write request;
a queue adapted to store a second write request;
logic adapted to determine if the first and second write requests target memory locations that are collectively associated with a cache line and based on the determination, selectively combine the first and second write requests; and
a second interface adapted to furnish a write operation to the memory locations in response to the combination of the first and second write requests. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12)
a first memory adapted to store the second request; and
a second memory adapted to store data associated with the second request.
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13. A method for use with a computer system, comprising:
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receiving first requests associated with one or more locations of a first memory, the memory locations being collectively associated with a cache line of a cache memory separate from the first memory; and
combining the first requests to furnish an operation associated with the first memory. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
receiving a data stream; and
generating the first requests from the data stream.
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17. The method of claim 13, wherein the first requests comprise write requests, further comprising;
prefetching data associated with at least the cache line based on at least one of the write requests.
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18. The method of claim 13, wherein the act of combining comprises:
linking the first requests together.
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19. The method of claim 13, wherein the act of combining comprises:
generating a request from the first requests.
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20. A method comprising:
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receiving a first request;
determining if the first request and a second request stored in a queue target location of a first memory, the requests being collectively associated with a cache line of a cache memory separate loom the first memory; and
based on the determination combining the first and second requests to generate a an operation associated with the first memory. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
storing the third write request in the queue.
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26. The method of claim 20, further comprising:
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retrieving a stream of data from a peripheral device; and
generating the first request from a portion of the stream of data.
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27. The method of claim 26, wherein the peripheral device comprises a camera.
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28. The method of claim 26, wherein the peripheral device comprises a block oriented device.
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29. The method of claim 26, wherein the peripheral device comprises a disk drive.
Specification