Patent ID: 8200903

Claim:
A method for selecting a line to evict in a data storage hierarchy including a first cache at a first level and at least one higher-level cache at a higher level, said method comprising: determining whether at least one invalid line exists in said first cache and, when at least one invalid line exists in said first cache, selecting an invalid line for eviction from said first cache; when an invalid line does not exist in said first cache, determining whether at least one line exists in said first cache that does not exist in a higher-level cache of said hierarchy and, when at least one line that does not exist in a higher-level cache of said hierarchy exists in said first cache, selecting a line that is not cached in a higher-level cache of said hierarchy for eviction from said first cache; and when at least one invalid line does not exist in said first cache and when at least one line that does not exist in a higher-level cache of said hierarchy, selecting a cached class line for eviction from said first cache.