Caches
3-4
Copyright © ARM Limited 2000. All rights reserved.
The ICache and DCache are four-way set associative, with a cache line length of 8
words (32 bytes). Each cache supports single-cycle read access.
Each cache segment consists of a TAG RAM for storing the cache line address and a
data RAM for storing the instructions or data.
During a cache access, all TAG RAMs are accessed for the first nonsequential access,
and the TAG address compared with the access address. If a match (or hit) occurs, the
data from the segment is selected for return to the ARM9E-S core. If none of the TAGs
match (a miss), then external memory must be accessed, unless the access is a buffered
write when the write buffer is used.
If a read access from a cachable memory region misses, new data is loaded into one of
the four segments. This is an allocate on read miss replacement policy. Selection of the
segment is performed by a segment counter that can be clocked in a pseudo-random
manner, or in a predictable manner based on the replacement algorithm selected.
Critical or frequently accessed instructions or data can be locked into the cache by
restricting the range of the replacement counter. You cannot replace locked lines. They
remain in the cache until they are unlocked or flushed.
The access address from the ARM9E-S core can be split into four distinct segments:
•
byte address (Addr[1:0])
•
word address (Addr[4:2])
•
index
•
address TAG.
The size of the index and address TAGs vary depending on the implemented cache size.
Table 3-1 shows how the index and TAG sizes change for the cache sizes supported by
the ARM946E-S.
Table 3-1 TAG and index fields for supported cache sizes
Cache size
Index
TAG
4KB
Addr[9:5]
Addr[31:10]
8KB
Addr[10:5]
Addr[31:11]
16KB
Addr[11:5]
Addr[31:12]
32KB
Addr[12:5]
Addr[31:13]
64KB
Addr[13:5]
Addr[31:14]
128KB
Addr[14:5]
Addr[31:15]
Summary of Contents for ARM946E-S
Page 1: ...ARM DDI 0155A ARM946E S Technical Reference Manual ...
Page 6: ...vi Copyright ARM Limited 2000 All rights reserved ARM DDI 0155A 04 Limited Confidential ...
Page 54: ...Programmer s Model 2 34 Copyright ARM Limited 2000 All rights reserved ARM DDI 0155A ...
Page 70: ...Caches 3 16 Copyright ARM Limited 2000 All rights reserved ARM DDI 0155A ...
Page 78: ...Protection Unit 4 8 Copyright ARM Limited 2000 All rights reserved ARM DDI 0155A ...
Page 112: ...Coprocessor Interface 7 14 Copyright ARM Limited 2000 All rights reserved ARM DDI 0155A ...