Fundamentals of Parallel Multicore Architecture

Chapter 9

Memory Consistency Models

Contents

9.1   Programmers’ Intuition

9.2   Architecture Mechanisms for Ensuring Sequential Consistency

9.2.1   Basic SC Implementation on a Bus-Based Multiprocessor

9.2.2   Techniques to Improve SC Performance

9.3   Relaxed Consistency Models

9.3.1   Safety Net

9.3.2   Processor Consistency

9.3.3   Weak Ordering

9.3.4   Release Consistency

9.3.5   Lazy Release Consistency

9.4   Synchronization in Different Memory Consistency Models

9.5   Exercises

As mentioned in Chapter 6, one important problem that multiprocessor systems must address is the memory consistency problem, which deals with how accesses (loads and stores) to any memory address are ordered with respect to one another as seen by all processors. ...