modelling cache

PriyaAgrawal · Joined: 30 May 2008 Posts: 22 Location: India

While modelling cache, does the VMI MMC provide the ability to implement cache miss policies like write-back or write through?

DuncGrah · Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 8:03 am Post subject:

MMCs (Memory Model Components) make use of the VMI API to define the cache functionality. This is a rich and flexible set of functions and, as such, can be used to define all aspects of cache behavior.
This would include the cache miss and replacement policy such as Least recently Used, pseudo random etc; or the write policy such as write through or write back.

PriyaAgrawal · Joined: 30 May 2008 Posts: 22 Location: India

Thanks for the information

MatthewHall · OVP Technologist Joined: 26 Feb 2008 Posts: 84

We are currently updating the

"OVPsim and Imperas CpuManager User Guide"

to include how to create and use MMCs.

CoMpOrGaNiZeR · Joined: 15 Apr 2010 Posts: 3

I have a similar question with regards to MMCs. Where can I learn more about implementing different types of caches?

"OVPsim_and_CpuManager_User_Guide.pdf" introduces them very well, but I would like to be able to design the cache more thoroughly. So far I have only seen options relating to associativity and size in the MMC Function Reference, and I am having trouble figuring out how (and where) to apply those functions.

I have read a lot of documentation, and you guys are extremely thorough! I feel like the right PDF is right under my nose, but I haven't found it yet. Can anyone recommend me a good cache example or document?

I'll keep looking in the interim.

JimStraus · OVP Technologist Joined: 09 Dec 2008 Posts: 154

For examples you probably have already seen the fullMMC and transparentMMC examples in $(IMPERAS_HOME)/Examples/Platforms.

Probably the best way to learn how these work is to look at the source for the example models provided with OVP.

Each of the normal OVP peripherals has its own page on the website where you can download the source for it, but this seems to be missing for the MMC models.

However, we also provide source from an svn repository we maintain at googlecode. There are some instructions on how to access this on the OVPworld.org site at:

CoMpOrGaNiZeR · Joined: 15 Apr 2010 Posts: 3

JimStraus · OVP Technologist Joined: 09 Dec 2008 Posts: 154

Did you look at the file ovpworld.org/mmc/support/1.0/include/cache.h from the googlecode site? This is the source for the cache models that were used in the examples.

You can look at the source to see exactly how the examples were done, and modify it to suit whatever your specific requirements are.

See ovpworld.org/mmc/wb_4way_32byteline_256tags/ on the googlecode site specifically for an example of the cache model configured as a 4 way cache.

Jim Straus

DuncGrah · Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 1:48 am Post subject:

This MMC support files will be included in future releases but in the meantime you can find the source as a zip file downloadable from library page