Patent ID: 7698505

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of data caching comprising: dynamically deciding whether to associate a priority tag with requested data for a processing unit of a distributed computing environment comprising a distributed coherent hardware cache system, the priority tag being employed in deciding whether to hold the requested data in a local hardware cache associated with the processing unit and comprising part of the distributed coherent hardware cache system; and wherein the dynamically deciding includes determining whether a latency of arrival value of the requested data at the processing unit meets a set, programmable latency threshold for the processing unit, the programmable latency threshold being tuned for the processing unit based on a type of workload being processed by the processing unit, and if so, associating the priority tag with the requested data, capturing the requested data and the latency of arrival value in the local cache, and conditionally maintaining the requested data with the associated priority tag in the local cache based on the priority tag being associated therewith over other data in the local cache without an associated priority tag, and if there is no other data in the local cache without an associated priority tag, then conditionally maintaining the requested data in the local cache if the latency of arrival value of the requested data is larger than a latency of arrival value of other data in the local cache with a priority tag associated therewith.