Which are often needed to evaluate the cache performance?

The correct answer is Hit Ratio.

Key Points

• The Hit Ratio is a critical metric for evaluating the performance of a cache.
  • It measures the percentage of cache accesses that result in a cache hit, where the requested data is found in the cache.
  • A higher hit ratio indicates that the cache is effectively storing and providing the required data, reducing the need to access slower main memory.
  • It is calculated as the number of cache hits divided by the total number of cache accesses.
  • Improving the hit ratio can significantly enhance the overall system performance by reducing latency and increasing throughput.

Additional Information

• Other metrics such as latency, transfer rate, and cache traces can also be important for evaluating specific aspects of cache performance.
• Latency measures the time taken to access data from the cache.
• Transfer rate indicates the speed at which data can be transferred to and from the cache.
• Cache traces provide detailed records of cache accesses, which can be analyzed to optimize cache configuration and policies.
• However, the hit ratio remains a primary indicator of the cache's effectiveness in reducing memory access times.