Abstract:
A system and method for optimizing the performance of a computer memory system substitutes faster memory for a certain portion of the main memory. The substituted memory section automatically assumes a predesignated portion of the main memory and allows the main memory to become sequentially reorganized. Using this arrangement, for example, all the DOS applications that reside in the first 640 Kbytes of memory can be resident in the faster memory and the original main memory can then be used for other applications.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to computer memory systems and more particularly to such a system which automatically adapts to the presence of additional fast performance memory. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The IBM PC family is based on the 8088, 80286 and 80386 Intel processors. A popular operating system for these PC&#39;s is the disk operating system (&#34;DOS&#34;). This operating system and all the applications that run under it are stored in the first 640 kilobytes of random access memory (&#34;RAM&#34;). (DOS 4.01 and earlier). 
     In order to speed up performance of DOS and DOS applications, many computer designers have installed memory caches on their systems. These systems typically use a small high speed memory as the &#34;cache&#34;. This technique increases memory access speed when the program is loaded into the cache. This solution partially fails, however, when the size of DOS and the DOS applications exceeds the size of the cache memory. The system is then forced to wait to address data in the slower speed memories. Another disadvantage of cache memory systems are DRAM refresh delays. These delays are created by the need to periodically refresh dynamic RAM&#39;s. Because the caches are small and cannot contain entire DOS and DOS application data, they must be linked with the DRAM&#39;s. The DRAM&#39;s often contain spillover data from the cache. The cache memory then is idle while the DRAM&#39;s are refreshed. 
     It is one objective of the present invention to optimize performance of the memory containing the DOS and DOS applications. 
     This is a second objective of this inventor to have a zero wait state during memory reads and writes. 
     It is a still further objective of this inventor to avoid overhead involved in maintaining the slower dynamic random access memory (&#34;DRAM&#34;) memory that contains the remaining system memory. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     To achieve performance better than cache based systems, the first 640 kilobytes of memory are mapped to a high speed static random access memory (&#34;SRAM&#34;) array. These addresses contain DOS and DOS applications. The most frequently accessed addresses are now within a high speed SRAM array. The array can achieve zero wait state reads and writes because of its high operating speed and static memory characteristics. There is no refresh overhead associated with the SRAM array. Because the array is large enough to contain all of DOS and of DOS applications, it may operate independently of the DRAM refresh cycle. 
     Therefore, it is a technical advantage of this invention that, when installed, a signal from the invention is passed to the mother board telling it to sequentially map the first 640 kilobytes of memory to the card. The remaining memory is mapped sequentially to the cache and DRAM. When the card is removed, the absence of the signal tells the mother board to map all memory to the DRAM and cache system. It is a further technical advantage of this invention to provide high speed memory cells for the most frequently addressed data. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The foregoing objects, features and technical advantages, as well as others, of the invention will be more apparent from the following description of the drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of the host computer and of the fast performance memory; 
     FIG. 2 illustrates the location of system memory with and without the SRAM card installed; and 
     FIGS. 3-7, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b, 11a, 11b, 12, 13, 14a, 14b show a specific embodiment of the invention operating in conjunction with a computer system. 
     FIG. 15 illustrates a flowchart of the steps performed by a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIG. 1 shows system 10 with address bus 17 and data bus 16. When SRAM 11 is not installed, processor 101 only uses cache memory 12 and DRAM 13 to store information. Individual memory cells in cache 12 and DRAM 13 are identified by processor 101 through address bus 17. The contents of individual cells in cache 12 and DRAM 13 are passed to and from processor 101 through data bus 16. Buffers 14 and 15 isolate the circuitry of DRAM 13 from processor 101 and from any other device connected to buses 16 and 17. Buffers 14 and 15 also latch highspeed signals on buses 14 and 15 for use by DRAM 13. 
     When SRAM card 11 is installed in system 10, processor 101 reads and writes data to SRAM 11, cache 12 and DRAM 13. SRAM card 11 is connected to buses 16 and 17. Neither SRAM 11 nor cache 12 needs to be refreshed by processor 101 and buffers 14 and 15 operate as if SRAM 11 was not present. 
     FIG. 2 depicts how system memory is allocated when SRAM card 11 is installed and when it is absent. When SRAM card 11 is not installed, processor 101 sequentially writes all data to the cache memory 12 and to DRAM 13. As shown, the address space is all within memory 12 and 13, sequentially. 
     When the SRAM card is installed, the first 640 kilobytes of system memory is written to the SRAM card and thus the first 640 kilobytes of memory 11 and 12 are shifted upward in sequence as shown. The memory cells of memory 11 then contain DOS and DOS application software. The original memory is then allocated to the cache memory and to the DRAM. In either case, provision for 384 kilobytes of video Read Only Memory (&#34;ROM&#34;) is permanently located at the addresses immediately following the first 640 kilobytes of system memory. 
     FIGS. 3 through 13 show one embodiment of a circuit that performs the functions discussed above. This embodiment relies on a number of programmable logic array circuits (PALS), programming for which is shown in Appendix A. 
     As shown on FIG. 3, the chip enables for the SRAMS on the SRAMCARD come out of DOSDEC pal. This pal decodes cycles to the SRAMCARD when it is installed, and asserts the proper chip enable. Only one chip enable is asserted at a time. The chip enables correspond to rows of SRAMS on the SRAMCARD. The exact definition is given below. 
     MEMDEC pal 302 decodes memory space for the motherboard. It also generates a signal which indicates to offsheet logic that the current cycle is to local memory. 
     Local memory is memory resources which are on the motherboard and have special interfaces. The SRAMCARD qualifies as local memory. 
     The following Signal Description section describes individual signals on the page. 
     
         ______________________________________      I =     Input signal on this page      O =     Output signal on this page      I/O =   Input/Output signal on this pageA[31:16]   /I :    Addresses from the 386 chip, or              from the DMA (direct memory              access) logic.CPUA20     I :     Address from the 386 chipGATEA20    I :     Offsheet control which gates              CPUA20 from the 386A20        I/O :   Gated CPUA20 from the 386T2         I :     Comes from offsheet control              logic and indicates that a 386              cycle is currently active.HOFFICE    I :     A control signal which holds the              SRAMCARD chip enable signals              active through the entire cycle.HOLDA1-    I :     An offsheet signal indicates              that a DMA cycle is active.BDOSRAMEN- I :     Comes from the SRAMCARD              connector. When low this              indicates that the SRAMCARD is              installed.LOMEG-     O :     Indicates cycle to memory below              1 megabyte. The SRAMCARD              resides in this space when              installed.DOSRAM-    O :     Indicates that the current cycle              decodes to the SRAMCARD.PDOSROW0CE O :     Chip enable for SRAM card row (0              to 256K)PDOSROW1CE-      O :     Chip enable for SRAM card row              (156K to 512K)PDOSROW2CE-      O :     Chip enable for SRAM card row 2              (512K to 576K)PDOSROW3CE-      O :     Chip enable for SRAM card row 3              (576K to 640K)MEMCYCLE-  I :     Offsheet signal indicates              current cycle is to a memory              mapped device.UPPERROM-  O :     Part of the BIOS rom decodeLOCALMEM-  O :     Indicates cycle is to local              memory. The SRAMCARD is a local              memory resource.MWEITEK    O :     Indicates cycle is to the WEITEK              coprocessor.WTKORTST-  O :     Indicates cycle is to the WETIEK              or test spaceL016MEG    O :     Indicates current cycle is to              the low 16 mBYTESTSTSPACE-  O :     Indicates current cycle is to              the testspace______________________________________ 
    
     FIG. 4 shows logic which completes the control for the SRAMCARD. DOSGATE pal 403 controls the gating of addresses and chip enables to the card. DOSWRITE pal 401 controls the write strobes to the card. DOSREAD 402 pal controls the output enables to the card. The write strobes and the output enables connect directly to the SRAMS on the SRAMCARD. 
     
         ______________________________________SIGNAL DESCRIPTIONS:______________________________________READ-, CODE-,M/IO-       I :    Signals from the 386 which              indicate the type of cycle              currently activeP1T2Q       I :    Like T2-, this signal indicates              that a cycle from the 386 is              activeIOCYCLE-    O :    Indicates the 386 is performing              a cycle to an IO mapped device.MEMCYCLE-   O :    Indicates the 386 is performing              a cycle to a memory mapped              device.MTSTSPACE-  O :    Decode of a memory mapped test              space.HOFFCE-     O :    Described above.DRALE-      O :    Signal which gates addresses on              the SRAMCARD. Used to hold              addresses valid through the              entire cycle.DRCLK       I :    66MHZ clkBBE3-thru BBE0   I :    signals indicate the BYTE              currently being accessed.ADS-        I :    Address strobe from the 386.              Indicates the beginning of a              cycle on its rising edge.DRPHASE2-   I :    Generated by offsheet logic.              Used to synchronize the              motherboard with the 386.DOSRST-     I :    Resets the PAL at power up time.SYNCWR-     I :    Synchronized write pulse from              offsheet DMA logic.              NOTE: The SRAMCARD will only              be written to if the chip enable is              active during the write strobe.* PDOSRAMWE3-       O :    This signal is active on all              memory writes where BBE3- is              active (i.e. writes to byte 3).* PDOSRAMWE2-       O :    This signal is active on all              memory writes where BBE2 - is              active (i.e. writes to byte 2).* PDOSRAMWE1-       O :    This signal is active on all              memory writes where BBE1- is              active (i.e. writes to byte 1).* PDOSRAMWE0-       O :    This signal is active on all              memory writes where BBE0- is              active (i.e. writes to byte 0).A[19:16]    I :    Addresses from the 386 or DMA              logic. Used to decode the              proper rows on the SRAMCARD              during a read to the SRAMCARD.DRREADY-    I :    Indicates the end of a 386 cycleSYNCRO      I :    Synchronized read pulse from              offsheet DMA logic of the              SRAMCARD.*PDOSROW20E O :    This signal is active during all              reads to ROW2 of the SRAMCARD.*PDOSROW10E O :    This signal is active during all              reads to ROW1 of the SRAMCARD.*PDOSROW00E O :    This signal is active during all              reads to ROW0 of the SRAMCARD.*PDOSROW300E       O :    This signal is active during all              read to ROW3 of the SRAMCARD.______________________________________ 
    
     FIG. 5 shows the connector for the SRAMCARD on the mother board. All the control signals discussed above go to this connector. Address and data from the 386 and the DMA controller also go to this connector. 
     FIG. 6 shows the connector for the SRAMCARD on the card. 
     FIG. 7 shows the address latches for the SRAM on the SRAMCARD. 
     FIGS. 8-11 show the SRAM array and FIG. 12 shows the termination resistors for the control signals. 
     FIG. 13 shows bypass capacitors to reduce switching noise. 
     FIG. 14 contains logic which decodes the cycles to the 32-Bit memory card. The three pals 1401, 402 and 403 use switches from the 32-Bit card, and the signal BDOSRAMEN- to determine where to locate the DRAMS in memory. If the SRAMCARD is installed, BDOSRAMEN- is active and the pals begin decoding the 32-BIT DRAM card at 1 MBYTE. If the SRAMCARD is not installed, BDOSRAMEN- is inactive and the pals begin decoding the 32-BIT DRAM card at the bottom of memory space (address 0). 
     ROW3DEC pal decodes cycles to ROW 3 on the DRAMCARD. ROW12DEC pal decodes cycles to ROWs 1 and 2 on the DRAMCARD. ROWODEC pal decodes cycles to ROW 0 on the DRAMCARD. 
     
         ______________________________________Signal Description:______________________________________EMA[23:17]     I :    Latched addresses from the 386            or the DMA logic which are used            by the decode pals to select the            proper row.RELOCEN-  I :    Switch setting which indicates            whether relocation of the memory            between 640K and 1 MBYTE is            enabled. This feature is only            available when the SRAMCARD is            not installed.512 ONLY -     I :    Disables memory on the DRAMCARD            between 512k and 1 MBYTE. This            feature is only available when            the SRAMCARD is not installed.1MR3-, 1MR2-,1MR1-, 1MR0     I :    Switches on the DRAMCARD which            indicate whether 1MBYTE or 256K            SIMMs are installed.ENR3-, ENR2-,ENR1-, ENR0     I :    Switches on the DRAMCARD which            indicate which rows contain            SIMMS.* RAMSEL  I :    This is the logical OR of all            the ROW selects. This signal            indicates that the current cycle            is going to the DRAMCARD. When            the SRAMCARD is installed this            signal will be active starting            at 1MBYTE. When the SRAMCARD is            not installed, this signal will            be active starting at address 0.______________________________________ 
    
     Although this description describes the invention with reference to the above specified embodiments, the claims and not this description limit the scope of the invention. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiment, as well as alternative embodiments of the invention, will become apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to the above description. Therefore, the appended claims will cover such modifications that fall within the true scope of the invention. ##SPC1##