ANALYSIS OF ASSOCIATIVITY AND CONFLICT MISSES

Cache memory is playing a huge role in determining the performance when solving scientific problems. Most of these problems include a high number of repetition of complex or simple calculations on various data elements stored as arrays in sequential order in the memory. When executing the algorithms, these elements are brought to cache and then used by the processor. This process is usually followed by conflict and capacity misses in the cache, and the performance is degraded by a cache placement function, replacement policy or capacity constraints. In this paper we analyze the algorithms and performance impact of set associative caches when a large array is referenced in sequentially ordered memory. We map the problem of cache use into an IT related mathematical model to analyze the performance and give a scientific explanation for performance drops due to associativity and conflict cache misses in caches.