Memory Management Unit with TLB

Overview

This C++ project simulates a Memory Management Unit (MMU) with a Translation Lookaside Buffer (TLB). It processes virtual memory addresses from a trace file, translating them into physical addresses using a page table and TLB cache mechanism. The project demonstrates concepts like virtual-to-physical address translation, TLB caching, page table lookups, and LRU (Least Recently Used) cache replacement policy.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• C++ compiler (e.g., g++)
• Standard C++ libraries
• Make utility for build automation (optional)

Installation and Compilation

1. Ensure that a C++ compiler is installed on your machine.
2. Clone or download the project repository.
3. Navigate to the project directory and use the Makefile to compile:

make

This will create the executable mmuwithtlb.

Running the Program

Execute the program with the following command, replacing [trace_file] with the path to your trace file, and [bit_counts] with the bit counts for each level in the page table:

./mmuwithtlb [trace_file] [bit_counts...]

Code Description

Files and Modules

• TLB.h & TLB.cpp: Implements the Translation Lookaside Buffer (TLB).
• pagetable.h & pagetable.cpp: Manages the page table for address translation.
• vaddr_tracereader.h & vaddr_tracereader.c: Reads and processes virtual address traces.
• print_helpers.h & print_helpers.c: Utilities for printing various outputs.
• main.cpp: Main driver of the program.
• Makefile: Script for compiling the program.

Key Components

• TLB (Translation Lookaside Buffer):

  • A cache mechanism for speeding up virtual-to-physical address translation.
  • Implements LRU (Least Recently Used) policy for cache replacement.

• Page Table:

  • Handles the mapping of virtual addresses to physical frames.
  • Supports multi-level page table structure.

• Address Translation:

  • Processes addresses from a trace file.
  • Translates virtual addresses to physical addresses using the page table and TLB.

Compilation Flags

• -std=c++11: Uses the C++11 standard.
• -Wall: Enables all compiler's warning messages.
• -g3: Includes extra debugging information.

Makefile Targets

• $(PROGRAM): Compiles the main program.
• clean: Cleans up compiled objects and executable.

Testing

• The program can be tested with a trace file containing virtual addresses.
• It will output the physical addresses, TLB and page table hits/misses, and other relevant information.

./mmuwithtlb trace3.tr -p va2pa_tlb_ptwalk 20 2 -c 15