Patent ID: 8370577

Claim:
A method for storing metadata of actual data in a cache using the same address for the metadata and the actual data, the method comprising: maintaining a cache associated with one or more processors, the cache comprising a plurality of cache entries, each cache entry including a data portion that stores data, and a plurality of indicators including an address indicator and a metadata indicator, the address indicator storing a representation of the physical address of the data stored in the corresponding data portion, the metadata indicator defining whether the data stored in the corresponding data portion is actual data or metadata to actual data; loading actual data into the cache, the actual data having a physical memory address representing the physical location in memory where the actual data is stored, the loading comprising: writing the actual data into the data portion of a first cache entry; writing a representation of the physical memory address of the actual data into the address indicator of the first cache entry; and setting the metadata indicator of the first cache entry to define that the data portion stores actual data; and loading metadata into the cache, the metadata comprising metadata of the actual data, the loading comprising: writing the metadata into the data portion of a second cache entry; writing a representation of the physical memory address of the actual data to which the metadata corresponds into the address indicator of the second cache entry; and setting the metadata indicator of the second cache entry to define that data portion stores metadata to the actual data stored at the physical memory address defined by the representation in the address indicator of the second cache entry.