Patent ID: 6134635
Filing Date: 2000-10-17
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
A method used by a memory controller to prevent deadlock of requests to a memory having a memory line, comprising:receiving a first memory request for the memory line from a first bus;receiving a second memory request for the memory line from a second bus;propagating the first memory request through to the second bus after receiving the second memory request;processing the second memory request by storing a first modified copy of the memory line in the memory controller;processing the first memory request by (a) storing a second modified copy of the memory line in the memory controller, and (b) transferring the second modified copy of memory line to a caching agent in order to satisfy the first memory request, andcomparing one of the first and second memory requests with a data structure having stored therein a plurality of pending memory update requests, and collapsing said request into a single write.