片上多核的软件指令缓存技术研究

Research of Software-Managed Instruction Memory for Chip Multiprocessor

半导体工艺的进步使片上可以集成更多的处理核心,对于消耗较多面积和功耗的存储单元,如何有效地减小面积、降低功耗是片上多核研究的一个重要方向。软件指令缓存技术是降低指令存储复杂性,以及降低功耗的有效方式,本文深入对比了硬件Cache结构和软件指令缓存结构,并且详细分析了两款典型的软件指令缓存结构,总结了其特点和需要解决的关键问题,为片上多核的指令存储设计提供了参考。

Improvements in semiconductor technology have made it possible to include more and more processor cores on a single die. It is an important research area for reducing chip area and power consumption of instruction memory on chip which consumes much area and power. Software-managed instruction memory is an effective method to solve these problems. This paper deeply compares hardware cache and software-managed instruction memory. Two typical software-managed instruction memory structures were introduced and analyzed. The characteristics and the problems of such methods were summarized, and enlightened us to design an efficient instruction memory for chip multiprocessors.