Faulting address prediction for prefetch target address

Abstract

An apparatus comprises memory management circuitry to perform a translation table walk for a target address of a memory access request and to signal a fault in response to the translation table walk identifying a fault condition for the target address, prefetch circuitry to generate a prefetch request to request prefetching of information associated with a prefetch target address to a cache; and faulting address prediction circuitry to predict whether the memory management circuitry would identify the fault condition for the prefetch target address if the translation table walk was performed by the memory management circuitry for the prefetch target address. In response to a prediction that the fault condition would be identified for the prefetch target address, the prefetch circuitry suppresses the prefetch request and the memory management circuitry prevents the translation table walk being performed for the prefetch target address of the prefetch request.