Efficient Data Packet Compression for Cache Coherent Multiprocessor Systems

Multiprocessor systems have been popular for their high performance not only for server markets but also for computing environments for general users. With the increased software complexity, networking overheads in multiprocessor systems are becoming one of the most influential factors in overall system performance. In this paper, we attempt to reduce communication overheads through a data packet compression technique integrating a cache coherence protocol. Here we propose Variable Size Compression (VSC) scheme that compresses or completely eliminates data packets while harmonizing with existing cache coherence protocols. Simulation results show approximately 23% of improvement on average in terms of overall system performance when compared with the most recent compression scheme. VSC also improves performance by 20% on average in terms of cache miss latency.