Performance of the KORA-2 cache replacement scheme

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a new strategy (KORA-2) for the replacement of lines in cache memories. The algorithm is efficient and easily implementable. It is basically an extension of our previous work presented in [1]-[5]. Key to our algorithm is to identify and discard inactive lines relatively quickly as opposed to the conventional replacement algorithms. Trace-driven simulations were performed for 42 different cache configurations using benchmark programs from SPEC92 (Standard performance Evaluation Corporation) benchmark suites. Simulation results illustrate that our algorithm can provide a peak value of approximately 8.71% improvement in the miss ratio over the best performing conventional algorithm (LRU) for the selected benchmark trace files generated from SPEC programs. This translates to a savings of hundreds of thousands of misses for typical programs referencing well over 100 million addresses.