Set Associative Mapping | Practice Problems
Computer Organization and Architecture
Set Associative Mapping-
Before you go through this article, make sure that you have gone through the previous
article on Set Associative Mapping.
In set associative mapping,
A particular block of main memory can be mapped to one particular cache set
only.
Block ‘j’ of main memory will map to set number (j mod number of sets in cache)
of the cache.
A replacement algorithm is needed if the cache is full.
In this article, we will discuss practice problems based on set associative mapping.
Also Read- Cache Mapping Techniques
PRACTICE PROBLEMS BASED ON SET ASSOCIATIVE MAPPING-
Problem-01:
Consider a 2-way set associative mapped cache of size 16 KB with block size 256
bytes. The size of main memory is 128 KB. Find-
1. Number of bits in tag
2. Tag directory size
Solution-
Given-
Set size = 2
Cache memory size = 16 KB
Block size = Frame size = Line size = 256 bytes
Main memory size = 128 KB
We consider that the memory is byte addressable.
Number of Bits in Physical Address-
We have,
Size of main memory
= 128 KB
= 217 bytes
Thus, Number of bits in physical address = 17 bits
Number of Bits in Block Offset-
We have,
Block size
= 256 bytes
= 28 bytes
Thus, Number of bits in block offset = 8 bits
Number of Lines in Cache-
Total number of lines in cache
= Cache size / Line size
= 16 KB / 256 bytes
= 214 bytes / 28 bytes
= 64 lines
Thus, Number of lines in cache = 64 lines
Number of Sets in Cache-
Total number of sets in cache
= Total number of lines in cache / Set size
= 64 / 2
= 32 sets
= 25 sets
Thus, Number of bits in set number = 5 bits
Number of Bits in Tag-
Number of bits in tag
= Number of bits in physical address – (Number of bits in set number + Number of bits
in block offset)
= 17 bits – (5 bits + 8 bits)
= 17 bits – 13 bits
= 4 bits
Thus, Number of bits in tag = 4 bits
Tag Directory Size-
Tag directory size
= Number of tags x Tag size
= Number of lines in cache x Number of bits in tag
= 64 x 4 bits
= 256 bits
= 32 bytes
Thus, size of tag directory = 32 bytes
Also Read- Practice Problems On Direct Mapping
Problem-02:
Consider a 8-way set associative mapped cache of size 512 KB with block size 1 KB.
There are 7 bits in the tag. Find-
1. Size of main memory
2. Tag directory size
Solution-
Given-
Set size = 8
Cache memory size = 512 KB
Block size = Frame size = Line size = 1 KB
Number of bits in tag = 7 bits
We consider that the memory is byte addressable.
Number of Bits in Block Offset-
We have,
Block size
= 1 KB
= 210 bytes
Thus, Number of bits in block offset = 10 bits
Number of Lines in Cache-
Total number of lines in cache
= Cache size / Line size
= 512 KB / 1 KB
= 512 lines
Thus, Number of lines in cache = 512 lines
Number of Sets in Cache-
Total number of sets in cache
= Total number of lines in cache / Set size
= 512 / 8
= 64 sets
= 26 sets
Thus, Number of bits in set number = 6 bits
Number of Bits in Physical Address-
Number of bits in physical address
= Number of bits in tag + Number of bits in set number + Number of bits in block offset
= 7 bits + 6 bits + 10 bits
= 23 bits
Thus, Number of bits in physical address = 23 bits
Size of Main Memory-
We have,
Number of bits in physical address = 23 bits
Thus, Size of main memory
= 223 bytes
= 8 MB
Tag Directory Size-
Tag directory size
= Number of tags x Tag size
= Number of lines in cache x Number of bits in tag
= 512 x 7 bits
= 3584 bits
= 448 bytes
Thus, size of tag directory = 448 bytes
Problem-03:
Consider a 4-way set associative mapped cache with block size 4 KB. The size of main
memory is 16 GB and there are 10 bits in the tag. Find-
1. Size of cache memory
2. Tag directory size
Solution-
Given-
Set size = 4
Block size = Frame size = Line size = 4 KB
Main memory size = 16 GB
Number of bits in tag = 10 bits
We consider that the memory is byte addressable.
Number of Bits in Physical Address-
We have,
Size of main memory
= 16 GB
= 234 bytes
Thus, Number of bits in physical address = 34 bits
Number of Bits in Block Offset-
We have,
Block size
= 4 KB
= 212 bytes
Thus, Number of bits in block offset = 12 bits
Number of Bits in Set Number-
Number of bits in set number
= Number of bits in physical address – (Number of bits in tag + Number of bits in block
offset)
= 34 bits – (10 bits + 12 bits)
= 34 bits – 22 bits
= 12 bits
Thus, Number of bits in set number = 12 bits
Number of Sets in Cache-
We have-
Number of bits in set number = 12 bits
Thus, Total number of sets in cache = 212 sets
Number of Lines in Cache-
We have-
Total number of sets in cache = 212 sets
Each set contains 4 lines
Thus,
Total number of lines in cache
= Total number of sets in cache x Number of lines in each set
= 212 x 4 lines
= 214 lines
Size of Cache Memory-
Size of cache memory
= Total number of lines in cache x Line size
= 214 x 4 KB
= 216 KB
= 64 MB
Thus, Size of cache memory = 64 MB
Tag Directory Size-
Tag directory size
= Number of tags x Tag size
= Number of lines in cache x Number of bits in tag
= 214 x 10 bits
= 163840 bits
= 20480 bytes
= 20 KB
Thus, size of tag directory = 20 KB
Also Read- Practice Problems On Fully Associative Mapping
Problem-04:
Consider a 8-way set associative mapped cache. The size of cache memory is 512 KB
and there are 10 bits in the tag. Find the size of main memory.
Solution-
Given-
Setsize = 8
Cache memory size = 512 KB
Number of bits in tag = 10 bits
We consider that the memory is byte addressable.
Let-
Number of bits in set number field = x bits
Number of bits in block offset field = y bits
Sum of Number Of Bits Of Set Number Field And Block Offset Field-
We have,
Cache memory size = Number of sets in cache x Number of lines in one set x Line size
Now, substituting the values, we get-
512 KB = 2x x 8 x 2y bytes
219 bytes = 23+x+y bytes
19 = 3 +x + y
x + y = 19 – 3
x + y = 16
Number of Bits in Physical Address-
Number of bits in physical address
= Number of bits in tag + Number of bits in set number + Number of bits in block offset
= 10 bits + x bits + y bits
= 10 bits + (x + y) bits
= 10 bits + 16 bits
= 26 bits
Thus, Number of bits in physical address = 26 bits
Size of Main Memory-
We have,
Number of bits in physical address = 26 bits
Thus, Size of main memory
= 226 bytes
= 64 MB
Thus, size of main memory = 64 MB
Problem-05:
Consider a 4-way set associative mapped cache. The size of main memory is 64 MB
and there are 10 bits in the tag. Find the size of cache memory.
Solution-
Given-
Setsize = 4
Main memory size = 64 MB
Number of bits in tag = 10 bits
We consider that the memory is byte addressable.
Number of Bits in Physical Address-
We have,
Size of main memory
= 64 MB
= 226 bytes
Thus, Number of bits in physical address = 26 bits
Sum Of Number Of Bits Of Set Number Field And Block Offset Field-
Let-
Number of bits in set number field = x bits
Number of bits in block offset field = y bits
Then, Number of bits in physical address
= Number of bits in tag + Number of bits in set number + Number of bits in block offset
So, we have-
26 bits = 10 bits + x bits + y bits
26 = 10 + (x + y)
x + y = 26 – 10
x + y = 16
Thus, Sum of number of bits of set number field and block offset field = 16 bits
Size of Cache Memory-
Cache memory size
= Number of sets in cache x Number of lines in one set x Line size
= 2x x 4 x 2y bytes
= 22+x+y bytes
= 22+16 bytes
= 218 bytes
= 256 KB
Thus, size of cache memory = 256 KB
