Bandwidth reduction technique in a snooping-based cache-coherent cluster of multiprocessing nodes

Abstract

A cluster of multiprocessing nodes uses snooping-based cache-coherence to maintain consistency among the cache memories of the multiprocessing nodes. One or more of the multiprocessing nodes each maintain a directory table that includes a list of addresses of data last transferred by cache-to-cache transfer transactions. Thus, upon a local cache miss for requested data, a multiprocessing node searches its directory table for an address of the requested data, and if the address is found in the directory table, the multiprocessing node obtains a copy of the requested data from the last destination of the requested data as indicated in the directory table. Thereafter, a message indicating the completion of a cache-to-cache transfer is broadcast to other connected multiprocessing nodes on a 'best efforts' basis in which messages are relayed from multiprocessing node to multiprocessing node using low priority status and/or otherwise unused cycles.