
5–32
Internal Processor Registers
29 September 1997 – Subject To Change
Memory Address Translation Unit (MTU) IPRs
5.2.3 Dstream Translation Buffer Tag (DTB_TAG) Register (202)
DTB_TAG is a write-only register that writes the DTB tag and the contents of the
DTB_PTE register to the DTB. To ensure the integrity of the DTBs, the DTB’s PTE
array is updated simultaneously from the internal DTB_PTE register when the
DTB_TAG register is written.
The entry to be written is chosen at the time of the DTB_TAG write operation by a
not-last-used replacement algorithm implemented in hardware. A write operation to
the DTB_TAG register increments the translation buffer (TB) entry pointer of the
DTB, which allows writing the entire set of DTB PTE and TAG entries. The TB
entry pointer is initialized to entry zero and the TB valid bits are cleared on chip reset
but not on timeout reset. Figure 5–29 shows the DTB_TAG register format.
Figure 5–29 Dstream Translation Buffer Tag (DTB_TAG) Register
5.2.4 Dstream Translation Buffer Page Table Entry (DTB_PTE)
Register (203)
DTB_PTE is a read/write register representing the 64-entry DTB page table entries
(PTEs). The entry to be written is chosen by a not-last-used replacement algorithm
implemented in hardware. Write operations to DTB_PTE use the memory format bit
positions, as described in the Alpha AXP Architecture Reference Manual, with the
exception that some fields are ignored. In particular, the page frame number (PFN)
valid bit is not stored in the DTB.
To ensure the integrity of the DTB, the PTE is actually written to a temporary regis-
ter and is not transferred to the DTB until the DTB_TAG register is written. As a
result, writing the DTB_PTE and then reading without an intervening DTB_TAG
write operation does not return the data previously written to the DTB_PTE register.
00
12
13
31
32
42
43
63
LJ-03501.AI4
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VA<42:13>
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VA<42:13>