Using cache coherent fpgas to accelerate remote memory write-back

Abstract

Disclosed is a method for performing write-back operations to maintain coherence of remote memories in a memory pool. When a local application makes a request for a page of memory that is in the memory pool but not local, a device obtains the page through its RDMA facility and thereafter keeps track of the page for any changes made by the application to the page by storing the page locally and monitoring cache coherency events of cache lines that make up the page. If a requested page become dirty, then periodically the dirty cache lines of the dirty page are written back to the remote memory from which the pages were obtained. In addition, all dirty cache lines are written back when the local memory storing the page becomes full or the application closes a region containing the page.