Patent ID: 8745618
Filing Date: 2014-06-03
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. An apparatus, in a data processing system, for partitioning a shared cache in virtualized environments, the apparatus comprising: a shared cache array; a hardware shared cache controller, wherein the hardware shared cache controller is configured to receive a cache access request from a virtual machine and responsive to the cache access request resulting in a cache miss, overwrite one or more victim cache lines in the shared cache array based on a vertical partition control and a horizontal partition control in an entry in a partition table corresponding to the virtual machine, wherein the vertical partition control represents one or more ways of the shared cache array assigned to the virtual machine and the horizontal partition control represents one or more rows of the shared cache array assigned to the virtual machine, wherein a virtual machine monitor creates the entry in the partition table to effect allocation of the one or more ways and the one or more rows of the shared cache to the virtual machine; and wherein the vertical partition control comprises a bitmask and wherein the horizontal partition control comprises a mask and an offset.