Table of Contents
- 1 Why do systems not use more or larger caches if they are so useful?
- 2 How cache memory improves the performance of a computer?
- 3 What is the difference between a system call and a system program?
- 4 Why have more than one file system type on a given system?
- 5 Is system call a software interrupt?
- 6 What are the performance implications of the cache structure?
- 7 What is a cache line in a processor?
Why do systems not use more or larger caches if they are so useful?
Why do systems not use more or larger caches if they are so useful? Caches are, almost by definition, more expensive than the device they are caching for, so increasing the number or size of caches would increase system cost.
How cache memory improves the performance of a computer?
Cache memory holds frequently used instructions/data which the processor may require next and it is faster access memory than RAM, since it is on the same chip as the processor. This reduces the need for frequent slower memory retrievals from main memory, which may otherwise keep the CPU waiting.
Why so little cache memory is required to significantly enhance the performance of a computer?
Cache memory is needed to reduce performance bottlenecks between RAM and the CPU. Since RAM is more expensive (but faster) than secondary storage, disk caches are smaller than hard drives or SSDs. Since SRAM is more expensive (but faster) than DRAM, memory caches are smaller than RAM.
Why the cache memory is not as large as the disk?
Cache memory has an operating speed similar to the CPU itself so, when the CPU accesses data in cache, the CPU is not kept waiting for the data. In terms of storage capacity, cache is much smaller than RAM. Therefore, not every byte in RAM can have its own unique location in cache.
What is the difference between a system call and a system program?
The system calls are list of the function that will be call in section between user and kernel . But the system program is the program that can do system works like : Change system settings .
Why have more than one file system type on a given system?
Why have more than one file system type on a given system? File systems can be designed and implemented with specific uses in mind, and optimized for those uses.
How cache affects performance?
Cache is a small amount of high-speed random access memory (RAM) built directly within the processor. It is used to temporarily hold data and instructions that the processor is likely to reuse. The bigger its cache, the less time a processor has to wait for instructions to be fetched.
Does cache improve performance?
Caching is a technique for improving application performance. Since memory access is an order of magnitude faster than magnetic media, data is read from a cache much faster and the application can continue on sooner. If the expected data is not in the cache (a cache miss), the data can still be accessed from storage.
Is system call a software interrupt?
System calls are not interrupts because they are not triggered asynchronously by the hardware. A process continues to execute its code stream in a system call, but not in an interrupt.
What are the performance implications of the cache structure?
Now lets look at performance implications of the cache structure. This will be particularly important for high performance computing and game development. A cache line is the unit of data transfer between the cache and main memory. Typically the cache line is 64 bytes.
Does increasing the size of cache memory increase performance of computer?
As you say that if you enhance the size of cache memory, performance of computer will increase. There is no doubt about that but this is not what it is meant for. Cache memory was installed in the computer for the faster execution of the programs being run very frequently by the user.
What is the difference between cache memory and main memory?
Cache memory is costlier than main memory or disk memory but economical than CPU registers. Cache memory is an extremely fast memory type that acts as a buffer between RAM and the CPU. It holds frequently requested data and instructions so that they are immediately available to the CPU when needed.
What is a cache line in a processor?
This will be particularly important for high performance computing and game development. A cache line is the unit of data transfer between the cache and main memory. Typically the cache line is 64 bytes. The processor will read or write an entire cache line when any location in the 64 byte region is read or written.