Cache, L2 Cache, CacheRangeFlush

Throughout this topic, the term flush is used for writing back and invalidating cache lines.

Cache 

Cache flushes are categorized as one of the following:

• TLB flush
• Instruction cache (I-cache) flush
• Data cache (D-cache) flush

Cache flushing is generally done in the following ways:

• User-initiated cache flush, by using the CacheRangeFlush function
• Turning the device off and back on
• Page acquisition or release, by using internal OEM functions to get a page and then free it
• Process deletion
• Uncaching a page
• API call return to a server other than the current server
• Thread switching to a process other than the current active process

L2 CACHE

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CacheRangeFlush

CacheRangeFlush :This function is called by device drivers and applications to flush a specified range of the cache.

OEMCacheRangeFlush:This function is used by the kernel to flush or invalidate a certain range of the cache or translation look-aside buffer (TLB). OEMs must implement this function in the OAL.