SLiD — a cost-effective and scalable limited-directory scheme for cache coherence

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a hybrid scheme — dubbed SLiD (Scalable Limited Directory) that combines the good features of the chained directory and limited directory schemes and minimizes the effect of the weak points of each individual scheme, namely the performance penalty in the limited directory when pointer overflow occurs, and the linear latency in the chained directory scheme when performing invalidations due to a write. Moreover, the hybrid scheme provides designers with three structural options for different requirements of performance and implementation cost. Simulation studies demonstrate that the SLiD scheme is promising. Compared with other related schemes, the SLiD scheme is scalable and cost-effective.