25112 Rev. 3.06 September 2005

Software Optimization Guide for AMD64 Processors

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Figure 1. Simple SMP Block Diagram

The AMD Opteron processor implements a Cache-coherent nonuniform memory access (ccNUMA) architecture when two or more processors are connected together on the same motherboard. In a ccNUMA design, each processor has its own memory system. When a processor accesses memory on its own local memory system, the latency is relatively low, especially when compared to a similar SMP system. If a processor accesses memory located on a different processor, then the latency will be higher. The phrase ‘non-uniform memory access’ refers to this potential difference in latency.

In an AMD Opteron processor system, each processor contains its own memory controller. Figure 2 shows an example of a two processor AMD Opteron system in a ccNUMA configuration.

AMD Opteron™

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Figure 2. AMD Opteron

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AMD Opteron™

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Dual-Core AMD Opteron processors and AMD Athlon X2 Dual-Core processors share the on-chip integrated memory controller and memory. Two or more AMD dual-core processors still use the ccNUMA configuration. Figure 3 illustrates a dual-core AMD Opteron configuration.

Chapter 5

Cache and Memory Optimizations

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