Patent ID: 7631145

Claim:
A method for caching data comprising: providing a cache memory area for storing data from memory locations in an original memory area; maintaining a repeatedly updated record of storage associated with the cache memory area; loading the cache memory area with entries previously stored in the cache memory area by utilizing the repeatedly updated record of storage; and accessing the cache memory area to obtain data corresponding to memory locations in the original memory areas wherein the repeatedly updated record of storage comprises a sequence of first memory allocations, each of the first memory allocations storing a plurality of entries each comprising a tag for referencing a memory location in the original memory area; wherein the cache memory area comprises a sequence of second memory allocations corresponding to a limited range of the sequence of first memory locations, each of the second memory allocations storing a plurality of entries each comprising a data value associated with a memory location in the original memory area; wherein loading of the cache memory area comprises advancing the limited range to which the second sequence of memory allocations corresponds, by unloading data from one of the second memory allocations and loading one of the second memory allocations with data corresponding to entries stored in a subsequent one of the sequence of first memory allocations; and wherein the sequence of second memory allocations is implemented as on-chip memory within a semiconductor chip containing a system requesting access to a memory location in the original memory area, wherein the sequence of first memory allocations is implemented as off-chip memory that is not part of the semiconductor chip containing the system requesting access to the memory location in the original memory area.