초록 ▼

When transferring data to a cache memory from an attachment data storage device, additional unrequested information can be transferred at the same time if it is likely that this additional data will soon be requested. The average quantity of data transferred to the cache memory in each operation can

When transferring data to a cache memory from an attachment data storage device, additional unrequested information can be transferred at the same time if it is likely that this additional data will soon be requested. The average quantity of data transferred to the cache memory in each operation can be automatically and continually varied in order to maximize the performance advantage provided by the cache memory. When a record of data is requested by the host processor, data is transferred to the cache memory from an attachment data storage device in increments of fixed-length data blocks each containing a sequence of data records, with the number of transferred blocks being determined by the position of a requested data record in its respective data block, and the average number of blocks transferred in any one operation being varied by adjusting threshold position values at which second or third data blocks are transferred.

대표청구항 ▼

A data processing system comprising at least one memory unit for storing a plurality of blocks of data each including n data records where n is a positive integer, a cache memory for storing a portion of the data stored in said memory unit, a host processor for requesting data stored in said memory

A data processing system comprising at least one memory unit for storing a plurality of blocks of data each including n data records where n is a positive integer, a cache memory for storing a portion of the data stored in said memory unit, a host processor for requesting data stored in said memory unit, and a controller for transferring said requested data to said host processor from said cache memory if said requested data is currently stored in said cache memory and for transferring said requested data to said host processor from said memory unit if said requested data is not currently stored in said cache memory, said controller comprising: transfer means for transferring to said cache memory from said memory unit a transfer data block containing a plurality of data records including said requested data record, said transfer means transferring to said cache memory a plurality of transfer data blocks over a predetermined period of time, said plurality of transfer data blocks having an average effective length, i.e., an average number of records per transfer data block; and varying means for varying said average effective length of said transfer data blocks.