R4400 Microprocessor User's Manual

11. Cache Organization, Operation, and Coherency

This chapter describes in detail the cache memory: its place in the R4000 memory organization, individual operations of the primary and secondary caches, cache interactions, and an example of a cache coherency request cycle. The chapter concludes with a description of R4000 processor synchronization in a multiprocessor environment.

This chapter uses the following terminology:

The primary cache may also be referred to as the P-cache.

The secondary cache may also be referred to as the S-cache.

The primary data cache may also be referred to as the D-cache.

The primary instruction cache may also be referred to as the I-cache.

These terms are used interchangeably throughout this book.

Chapter Contents

11.1 - Memory Organization
11.2 - Overview of Cache Operations
11.3 - R4000 Cache Description
11.4 - Cache States
11.5 - Cache Line Ownership
11.6 - Cache Write Policy
11.7 - Cache State Transition Diagrams
11.8 - Cache Coherency Overview
11.9 - Maintaining Coherency on Loads and Stores
11.10 - Manipulation of the Cache by an External Agent
11.11 - Coherency Conflicts
11.12 - R4000 Processor Synchronization Support

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