Virtual-to-Virtual Page Table for Memory Compression Metadata
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing data compression techniques in processor-based systems face challenges in efficiently accessing and managing metadata for compressed data, particularly in processor-based systems, where pipeline efficiency and metadata placement are critical for effective compression and decompression processes.
Innovation Solution
A virtual-to-virtual page table mapping system is introduced to separate the metadata from the main data surface, allowing for independent translation and placement, reducing the need for additional metadata handling and enabling flexible placement of metadata relative to the main surface, thereby improving compression efficiency and reducing pipeline complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If metadata is stored with the main data surface, then data access is simple, but metadata handling overhead increases and compression efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent separates metadata from the main data surface into distinct memory regions. The main data surface stores compressed data while metadata is stored in separate auxiliary surfaces or memory locations. This segmentation allows independent management of data and metadata, reducing handling overhead and improving compression efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts metadata from the main data surface and stores it in separate memory locations. By taking out metadata from the data stream, the system reduces metadata handling overhead during compression and decompression operations while maintaining efficient access to both data and metadata through the virtual-to-virtual page table mapping system.
2Adaptability or versatility
If metadata is placed flexibly relative to main surface, then placement freedom increases, but address translation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a virtual-to-virtual page table mapping system as an intermediary between virtual addresses and physical memory locations. This mapping system handles the complexity of flexible metadata placement by providing a layer of abstraction that translates virtual addresses to physical addresses without requiring changes to the basic CPU translation table, thus maintaining placement flexibility while managing translation complexity.
3Speed
If separate translation table for metadata is used, then metadata access efficiency improves, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the virtual-to-virtual page table mapping system multi-functional by using it for both main data surface translation and metadata translation. This universal mapping system handles both data and metadata access efficiently without requiring completely separate translation mechanisms, thus improving metadata access efficiency while limiting the increase in system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A virtual-to-virtual page table maps a main surface containing the actual data and a metadata or auxiliary surface that gives information about compression of the main surface. In order to access the metadata that corresponds to main surface, an additional virtual-to-virtual table may be used ahead of the regular page table mapping to avoid the need to pass the metadata base address and x, y coordinates across a pipeline which may result in multiple memory writes.