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The s.type field

Memory system messages come in four basic varieties, as conveyed by the s.type field:

REQUEST
Sent by a processor or cache to request some action related to the data requirements of the processor; may demand a data transfer.
REPLY
Sent by a cache or directory in response to the demands of a REQUEST; may include a data transfer.
COHE
Sent by a directory to other caches with a demand to invalidate or change the state of a line; may demand a data transfer.
COHE_REPLY
Sent by a cache in response to the demands of a COHE, or a replacement message; may include a data transfer.

Each of these four basic categories is further divided according to the req_type field and, in some cases, the s.reply and s.nack_st fields. These fields are described in the following sections.



Vijay Sadananda Pai
Thu Aug 7 14:18:56 CDT 1997