US Patent 8407421 Cache spill management techniques using cache spill prediction

An apparatus and method is described herein for intelligently spilling cache lines. Usefulness of cache lines previously spilled from a source cache is learned, such that later evictions of useful cache lines from a source cache are intelligently selected for spill. Furthermore, another learning mechanism—cache spill prediction—may be implemented separately or in conjunction with usefulness prediction. The cache spill prediction is capable of learning the effectiveness of remote caches at holding spilled cache lines for the source cache. As a result, cache lines are capable of being intelligently selected for spill and intelligently distributed among remote caches based on the effectiveness of each remote cache in holding spilled cache lines for the source cache.