Definition

cache thrash

Cache thrash is caused by an ongoing computer activity that fails to progress due to excessive use of resources or conflicts in the caching system. A key sign of cache thrashing is high CPU usage or a system that seems to be running very slowly. In thrashing, the computer will typically take the same actions over and over in an attempt to complete the desired task. One process diverts resources from another process, which in turn must take resources from another process in a vicious cycle if the total resources available are insufficient. For example, a translation lookaside buffer (TLB) may have to be completely reloaded to capture data on each sweep if the CPU cannot address the total number of pages involved. This means there is no TLB cache reuse, leading to inefficiency and long load times. In this case, thrashing can be occurring even if there are no page faults.

Cache thrash can sometimes be related to context switching (the procedure to change from one task to another to enable multi-tasking while avoiding any conflict). The underlying cause may be that thread pools are not sized properly in servlet containers or the algorithms used may be a poor match for the type of data being accessed. Methods such as cache coherency protocols that permit multiple caches to share a memory copy of a data item may limit thrashing in some use cases.

This was last updated in August 2014

Continue Reading About cache thrash

Dig Deeper on Agile, DevOps and software development methodologies

Cloud Computing
App Architecture
ITOperations
TheServerSide.com
  • The 3 daily Scrum questions

    The 2020 Scrum Guide removed all references to the three daily Scrum questions, but does that mean you shouldn't ask them anymore?

  • Why WebAssembly? Top 11 Wasm benefits

    Latency and lag time plague web applications that run JavaScript in the browser. Here are 11 reasons why WebAssembly has the ...

  • Why Java in 2023?

    Has there ever been a better time to be a Java programmer? From new Spring releases to active JUGs, the Java platform is ...

SearchAWS
Close