A Generalized Optimization Scheme for Memory-Side Prefetching to Enhance System Performance
Y. Zhuang, Ming Zhang, Binghao Wang · Electronics · 2025
In modern multi-core processors, memory request latency critically constrains overall performance. Prefetching, a promising technique, mitigates memory access latency by pre-loading data into faster cache structures. However, existing core-side prefetchers lack visibility to the DRAM state and may issue suboptimal requests, while conventional memory-side prefetchers often default to simple next-line policies that miss complex access patterns. We propose a comprehensive memory-side prefetch optimization scheme, which includes a prefetcher that utilizes advanced prefetching algorithms and an optimization module. Our prefetcher is capable of detecting more complex memory access patterns, thereby improving both prefetch accuracy and coverage. Additionally, considering the characteristics of DRAM memory access, the optimization module minimizes the negative impact of prefetch requests on DRAM by enhancing coordination with memory operations. Additionally, our prefetcher works in synergy with core-side prefetchers to deliver superior overall performance. Simulation results using Gem5 and SPEC CPU2017 workloads show that our approach delivers an average performance improvement of 10.5% and reduces memory access latency by 61%. Our prefetcher also operates in conjunction with core-side prefetchers to form a multi-level prefetching hierarchy, enabling further performance gains through coordinated and complementary prefetching strategies.