US Patent 6912628 N-way set-associative external cache with standard DDR memory devices

A method, cache system, and cache controller are provided. A two-way and n-way cache organization scheme are presented as at least two embodiments of a set-associative external cache that utilizes standard burst memory devices such as DDR (double data rate) memory devices. The set-associative cache organization scheme is designed to fully utilize burst efficiencies during snoop and invalidation operations. Cache lines are interleaved in such a way that a first burst transfer from the cache to the cache controller brings in a plurality of tags.