Patent ID: 7975107

Claim:
A method of cache management in a computer system, the method comprising: receiving, from an upper layer of software of the computer system, an access behavior description at an intermediary between the upper layer of software and a processor subsystem of the computer system, the access behavior description comprising an indication of how items of a working set are going to be accessed by the upper layer of software when the upper layer of software is executed by the processor subsystem; determining, by the intermediary, a cache usage management hint based upon a cache configuration of the processor subsystem and the access behavior description specifying a stream access pattern, the cache usage management hint preventing items of the working set from being cached in caches larger than a smallest cache larger than a window corresponding to the stream access pattern; and providing, by the intermediary, the cache usage management hint to the processor subsystem for consideration by the processor subsystem when performing cache management for at least one cache.