Patent ID: 7181573

Claim:
A method executed in a processor comprising: storing queue descriptors in a memory, the queue descriptors each specifying a structure of a respective queue, the queue including a linked list of elements and the queue descriptor including a head pointer, a tail pointer, and a count; determining, according to a criterion, which of the queue descriptors stored in the memory were most recently accessed, thereby generating a determined subset, storing the determined subset of queue descriptors in a cache in a processor's memory controller logic, the determined subset of queue descriptors stored in the cache including less than all of the queue descriptors stored in the memory with the queue descriptors that are stored in the memory, but not included in the determined subset, not being stored in the cache; receiving a request to perform an enqueue or a dequeue operation with respect to a particular queue; and referencing a corresponding queue descriptor stored in the cache to execute the operation, the queue descriptor specifying a structure of the particular queue.