Direct Mapping-

In direct mapping,
 A particular block of main memory can map only to a particular line of the cache.
 The line number of cache to which a particular block can map is given by-

Cache line number = ( Main Memory Block Address ) Modulo (Number of lines in Cache)
of main memory can map to line number (j mod n) only of the cache.

Example
 Consider cache memory is divided into ‘n’ number of lines.
 Then, block ‘j’ of main memory can map to line number (j mod n) only of the cache.

Need of Replacement Algorithm-

In direct mapping,
 There is no need of any replacement algorithm.
 This is because a main memory block can map only to a particular line of the cache.
 Thus, the new incoming block will always replace the existing block (if any) in that particular line.

Division of Physical Address-

In direct mapping, the physical address is divided as-
Direct Mapping-
In direct mapping, A particular block of main memory can be mapped to one particular
cache line only. Block ‘j’ of main memory will map to line number (j mod number of cache
lines) of the cache. There is no need of any replacement algorithm.

Practice problems based on direct mapping-

Problem-01:
Consider a direct 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-
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.

1.Number of Bits in Physical Address-
We have, Size of main memory = 128 KB
= 128 x 1k bytes
= 27 x 210
= 7 + 10 =17
Thus, Number of bits in physical address = 17 bits
2.Number of Bits in Block Offset-
We have, Block size = 256 bytes
= 28 bytes
Thus, Number of bits in block offset = 8 bits

3.Number of Bits in Line Number-

Total number of lines in cache = Cache size / Line size
= 16 KB / 256 bytes
= 24 x 210bytes / 28 bytes
= 26 lines
Thus, Number of bits in line number = 6 bits

4.Number of Bits in Tag-

Number of bits in tag
= Number of bits in physical address – (Number of bits in line number + Number of bits
in block offset)
= 17 bits – (6 bits + 8 bits)
= 17 bits – 14 bits
= 3 bits
Thus, Number of bits in tag = 3 bits
5.Tag Directory Size-
Tag directory size = Number of tags x Tag size
= Number of lines in cache x Number of bits in tag
= 26 x 3 bits
= 192 bits
= 24 bytes
Thus, size of tag directory = 24 bytes

Problem-02:
Consider a direct 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-
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.

1.Number of Bits in Block Offset-

We have, Block size = 1 KB
= 210 bytes
Thus, Number of bits in block offset = 10 bits
2.Number of Bits in Line Number-
Total number of lines in cache = Cache size / Line size
= 512 KB / 1 KB
= 29 lines
Thus, Number of bits in line number = 9 bits

3.Number of Bits in Physical Address-

Number of bits in physical address = Number of bits in tag + Number of bits in line
number + Number of bits in block offset
= 7 bits + 9 bits + 10 bits
= 26 bits
Thus, Number of bits in physical address = 26 bits

4.Number of Bits in Tag-

Number of bits in tag
= Number of bits in physical address – (Number of bits in line number + Number of bits
in block offset)
= 26 bits – (9 bits + 10 bits)
= 26 bits – 19 bits
= 7 bits
Thus, Number of bits in tag = 7 bits

5.Size of Main Memory-

We have, Number of bits in physical address = 26 bits Thus, Size of main memory
= 226 bytes
= 64 MB

6.Tag Directory Size-

Tag directory size = Number of tags x Tag size
= Number of lines in cache x Number of bits in tag
= 29 x 7 bits
= 3584 bits
= 448 bytes
Thus, size of tag directory = 448 bytes

Problem-03:
Consider a direct 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-
Block size = Frame size = Line size = 4 KB
Size of main memory = 16 GB
Number of bits in tag = 10 bits
We consider that the memory is byte addressable.

1.Number of Bits in Physical Address-

We have, Size of main memory = 16 GB
= 16 x 1k x 1k x 1k bytes
= 24 x 210 x 210 x 210
= 4 + 10 +10 + 10 = 34
Thus, Number of bits in physical address = 34 bits

2.Number of Bits in Block Offset-

We have, Block size = 4 KB
= 4 x 1K bytes
= 22 x 210
= 2 + 10 =12
Thus, Number of bits in block offset = 12 bits
3.Number of Bits in Line Number-
Number of bits in line 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 line number = 12 bits

4.Number of Lines in Cache-

We have-
Number of bits in line number = 12 bits
Thus, Total number of lines in cache = 212 lines

5.Size of Cache Memory-

Size of cache memory
= Total number of lines in cache x Line size
= 212 x 4 KB = 22 x 210 x 4KB
= 4k X 4 KB
= 16 MB
Thus, Size of cache memory = 16 MB

6.Tag Directory Size-

Tag directory size = Number of tags x Tag size
= Number of lines in cache x Number of bits in tag
= 212 x 10 bits
= 40960 bits
= 5120 bytes
Thus, size of tag directory = 5120 bytes
Problem-04:
Consider a direct mapped cache of size 32 KB with block size 32 bytes. The CPU
generates 32 bit addresses. The number of bits needed for cache indexing and the
number of tag bits are respectively-
1. 10, 17
2. 10, 22
3. 15, 17
4. 5, 17

Solution-
Given-
Cache memory size = 32 KB
Block size = Frame size = Line size = 32 bytes
Number of bits in physical address = 32 bits

1.Number of Bits in Block Offset-

We have, Block size = 32 bytes
= 25 bytes
Thus, Number of bits in block offset = 5 bits

2.Number of Bits in Line Number-

Total number of lines in cache = Cache size / Line size
= 32 KB / 32 bytes = 1K
= 210 lines
Thus, Number of bits in line number = 10 bits
3.Number of Bits Required For Cache Indexing-
Number of bits required for cache indexing
= Number of bits in line number
= 10 bits

4.Number Of Bits in Tag-

Number of bits in tag
= Number of bits in physical address – (Number of bits in line number + Number of bits
in block offset)
= 32 bits – (10 bits + 5 bits)
= 32 bits – 15 bits
= 17 bits
Thus, Number of bits in tag = 17 bits

Thus, Option (A) is correct.

Problem-05:
Consider a machine with a byte addressable main memory of 232 bytes divided into
blocks of size 32 bytes. Assume that a direct mapped cache having 512 cache lines
is used with this machine. The size of the tag field in bits is ______.

Solution-
Given-
Main memory size = 232 bytes
Block size = Frame size = Line size = 32 bytes
Number of lines in cache = 512 lines

1.Number of Bits in Physical Address-

We have,
Size of main memory
= 232 bytes
Thus, Number of bits in physical address = 32 bits
2.Number of Bits in Block Offset-
We have, Block size
= 32 bytes
= 25 bytes
Thus, Number of bits in block offset = 5 bits

3.Number of Bits in Line Number-

Total number of lines in cache
= 512 lines
= 29 lines
Thus, Number of bits in line number = 9 bits

4.Number Of Bits in Tag-

Number of bits in tag = Number of bits in physical address – (Number of bits in line
number + Number of bits in block offset)
= 32 bits – (9 bits + 5 bits)
= 32 bits – 14 bits
= 18 bits
Thus, Number of bits in tag = 18 bits
Problem-06:
An 8 KB direct-mapped write back cache is organized as multiple blocks, each of
size 32 bytes. The processor generates 32 bit addresses. The cache controller
maintains the tag information for each cache block comprising of the following-
 1 valid bit
 1 modified bit
 As many bits as the minimum needed to identify the memory block mapped
in the cache
What is the total size of memory needed at the cache controller to store meta data
(tags) for the cache?
 4864 bits
 6144 bits
 6656 bits
 5376 bits

Solution-
Given-
Cache memory size = 8 KB
Block size = Frame size = Line size = 32 bytes
Number of bits in physical address = 32 bits

1.Number of Bits in Block Offset-

We have,
Block size
= 32 bytes
= 25 bytes
Thus, Number of bits in block offset = 5 bits
2.Number of Bits in Line Number-
Total number of lines in cache = Cache memory size / Line size
= 8 KB / 32 bytes
= 213 bytes / 25 bytes
= 28 lines
Thus, Number of bits in line number = 8 bits

3.Number Of Bits in Tag-

Number of bits in tag = Number of bits in physical address – (Number of bits in line
number + Number of bits in block offset)
= 32 bits – (8 bits + 5 bits)
= 32 bits – 13 bits
= 19 bits
Thus, Number of bits in tag = 19 bits

4.Memory Size Needed At Cache Controller-

Size of memory needed at cache controller
= Number of lines in cache x (1 valid bit + 1 modified bit + 19 bits to identify block)
= 28 x 21 bits
= 5376 bits