Segmented Memory Address Mapping for Faster Virtual-to-Physical Lookup
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
As memory capacity increases, the number of levels in the page table of the radix tree structure increases, leading to prolonged processing times for memory management units to map virtual addresses to physical addresses, resulting in decreased efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A memory address mapping method that involves determining base address information from an address segment table and offset information from an address segment attribute table in parallel, reducing lookup depth and improving efficiency by using these tables separately for virtual address segments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the radix tree page table structure is used to map virtual addresses to physical addresses, then the mapping relationship can be stored and queried, but as memory capacity increases, the number of levels in the page table increases, leading to prolonged query time and decreased mapping efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the virtual address into multiple segments (first virtual address segment and second virtual address segment) and uses separate tables (address segment table and address segment attribute table) to store and query different parts of the mapping relationship. This segmentation allows parallel querying of multiple table levels simultaneously, reducing the sequential lookup time that increases with memory capacity in traditional radix tree structures.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the radix tree page table structure is used, then comprehensive address mapping can be achieved, but the sequential level-by-level query process becomes time-consuming as the number of levels increases
Solution Approach 1:
The address segment table stores mapping relationships for the first virtual address segment at multiple levels, while the address segment attribute table stores mapping relationships for the second virtual address segment. These tables can be queried in parallel, transforming the sequential level-by-level query into simultaneous operations, thereby improving address mapping efficiency while maintaining comprehensive mapping capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a new dimensional approach by separating the address mapping into two independent dimensions: one dimension handled by the address segment table (first virtual address segment) and another by the address segment attribute table (second virtual address segment). This dimensional separation enables parallel processing of address translation tasks that were previously constrained to a single sequential path.
Data Source
AI summary
A memory address mapping method, a memory management unit, an electronic device, and a storage medium are provided. The method includes: receiving a virtual address from a current process; determining an address segment table and an address segment attribute table according to identification information of the current process; finding base address information from the address segment table according to a first virtual address segment, where the base address information indicates a base address of a target physical address space segment, and a physical address mapped to the virtual address is located in the target physical address space segment; finding offset information from the address segment attribute table according to a second virtual address segment, where the offset information indicates an offset of the physical address; and determining the physical address mapped to the virtual address according to the base address information and the offset information.