In computer architecture, there are pieces of memory known as buffers. These buffers are small and contain information that must be accessed quickly. A write buffer, located in the cache of the central processing unit (CPU), contains information that must be able to be written from the buffer to the random access memory (RAM) area of the computer. Most of the data in the cache is read and not written, so the write buffer is small compared to the read section of the cache. The write buffer can only handle one write request at a time, so only one piece of data is released when a write request is received.
A central processing unit. A write buffer is maintained on the CPU.
In memory architecture, regardless of whether the memory is CPU or RAM, there is a section called cache. This represents a very small part of all memory and stores previously read data so that it can be retrieved later. By storing the information, the computer will be able to retrieve it much more quickly and easily when the user accesses it again.
A write buffer, which is stored exclusively in the CPU cache, stores information to write. The difference between a read and write request is how the information is handled. In a read request, the information is retrieved as is, without changes or calculations. A write request is more complicated because the information must be changed or calculated before it can be used.
Most requests are read requests, such as retrieving a static website or opening a previously saved document that hasn’t changed. The recording buffer helps organize the entire buffer. Instead of having all read and write requests in one place, which can drastically slow down the cache, write information is only stored in one section so that section can work exclusively on write requests. The rest of the cache is left to work on prevailing read requests.
In the write buffer, requests can only be handled one at a time. Instead of the read section of the cache handling many requests at once, the write section can only flush information for one request. This is mainly because write requests are harder to complete, so the cache needs to be focused on one task.
Although the buffer can only fill one write request at a time, it still moves quickly. Write requests only need a small block of information to work, and data is retrieved in milliseconds. Although slower than read requests, write requests are still filled with only a small delay.
