Patent ID: 7921276
Filing Date: 2011-04-05
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A method comprising: associating a first priority indicator with data stored in an entry of a translation lookaside buffer (TLB) by a first virtual machine (VM) corresponding to a first virtual machine monitor (VMM) having a first priority level to indicate the first priority level of the first VM, associating a first identifier of the first VM with the data in the entry, and storing the first priority indicator and the first identifier in the entry; updating a count value of a counter associated with the first priority level and indicative of a number of entries in the TLB having the first priority level, wherein the TLB includes the counter and other counters each associated with a different priority level; determining whether to replace a data element having the first priority level based at least in part on the count value; and selecting the data element having the first priority level for replacement if the count value is over a threshold for the first priority level, the threshold stored in a threshold storage of the TLB including a plurality of thresholds, each for one of the priority levels, wherein a sum of the thresholds can exceed a physical size of TLB.