Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!uwvax!cottage!lm
From: lm@cottage.WISC.EDU (Larry McVoy)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Phys vs Virtual Addr Caches
Message-ID: <3904@spool.WISC.EDU>
Date: Thu, 16-Jul-87 00:10:49 EDT
Article-I.D.: spool.3904
Posted: Thu Jul 16 00:10:49 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 18-Jul-87 03:28:59 EDT
Sender: news@spool.WISC.EDU
Reply-To: lm@cottage.WISC.EDU (Larry McVoy)
Organization: U of Wisconsin CS Dept
Lines: 15

Here's a question.  Why do people build their caches to respond to physical
addresses instead of virtual addresses?  Another way to state the question
is: why not put the VM -> PM translation logic next to (in parallel with)
the data cache, rather than before it?

If you cache virtual addresses you can present the address to the cache
as soon as it is generated, no delay do translation.  At the same time you
are doing the cache lookup you can be doing the translation in case there
is a miss.

Am I missing something or is this the wave of the future?  

Thank you fer yer support,

Larry McVoy 	        lm@cottage.wisc.edu  or  uwvax!mcvoy