Patent ID: 8606997

Claim:
A method of managing data in a multilevel cache of a multiprocessor system, comprising: receiving a request for a data item from a first processor from a plurality of processors, the first processor associated with a first multilevel cache from a plurality of multilevel caches, each multilevel cache from the plurality of multilevel caches being unique to each processor from the plurality of processors and including a hierarchy having at least a low level cache and a high level cache; determining that the requested data item is designated as a first type of data prior to accessing the first multilevel cache for a read type operation, the first type of data being associated with the low level cache; accessing a first low level cache of the first multilevel cache to retrieve the requested data item designated as the first type of data; in response to a cache miss for the requested data item in the first low level cache, bypassing the first high level cache when the requested data item is designated as the first type of data and sending a request for the requested data item directly to a memory, the request including a message indicating that the requested data item is the first type of data; receiving the requested data item from the memory, the memory not including the first high level of the first multilevel cache; and storing the received requested data item in a cache line of the first multilevel cache, the cache line being allocated in the first low level cache and not allocated in the first high level cache of the first multilevel cache, wherein the step of storing the data includes marking the cache line as including the first type of data.