What is Small Virtual Memory System in ARM Processor?

What is Small Virtual Memory System in ARM Processor?

A Small Virtual Memory system, also known as an SVMS, is a virtual memory system used in ARM processors. In this type of memory system, the processor is able to more efficiently access large amounts of data stored in memory while still providing some protection from errors in code. It operates similar to other virtual memory systems, but with a much smaller address space.

An SVMS is composed of two parts: a hardware translation lookaside buffer (TLB) and software page tables. The hardware TLB is used to translate the processor's logical addresses into physical locations in memory. This TLB is located in the processor's core and contains information about all the available memory spaces. It processes requests from the processor, looking up the correct memory address before executing a program.

In order to keep track of which parts of the physical memory are mapped to which logical addresses, software page tables are used. This allows the processor to keep track of what memory pages have been used and when they should be swapped out. When the processor needs to access data that is not currently in physical memory, the page table will indicate which pages should be swapped out.

Small Virtual Memory systems offer several benefits to ARM processors. The small address space helps the processor run faster and more efficiently, while still providing some protection from errors in code. Additionally, it allows the processor to access large amounts of data without having to constantly search through memory for the correct data. Ultimately, this makes ARM processors faster and more powerful.