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ARM DDI 0363E Copyright © 2009 ARM Limited. All rights reserved. 7-7
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7.2 Memory types
The ARM Architecture defines a set of memory types with characteristics that are suited to
particular devices. There are three mutually exclusive memory type attributes:
• Strongly Ordered
•Device
• Normal.
MPU memory regions can each be assigned a memory type attribute. Table 7-2 shows a
summary of the memory types.
Note
The processor’s L1 cache does not cache shared normal regions.
For more information on memory attributes and types, memory barriers, and ordering
requirements for memory accesses, see the ARM Architecture Reference Manual and
Application Note 204, Understanding processor memory types and access ordering.
7.2.1 Using memory types
The processor's memory system contains a store buffer which helps to improve the throughput
of accesses to Normal type memory. See Store buffer on page 8-18 for more information.
Because of the ordering rules which they must follow, accesses to other types of memory
typically have a lower throughput or higher latency than accesses to Normal memory. In
particular:
• reads from Device memory must first drain the store buffer of all writes to Device memory
• all accesses to Strongly Ordered memory must first drain the store buffer completely.
Similarly, when it is accessing Strongly Ordered or Device type memory, the processor's
response to interrupts must be modified, and the interrupt response latency is longer. See Low
interrupt latency on page 2-19 for more information.
Table 7-2 Memory attributes summary
Memory
type
attribute
Shared or
Non-shared
Other attributes Description
Strongly
Ordered
- - All memory accesses to Strongly Ordered memory occur in
program order. All Strongly Ordered accesses are assumed to
be shared.
Device Shared - For memory-mapped peripherals that several processors share.
Non-shared - For memory-mapped peripherals that only a single processor
uses.
Normal Shared Non-cacheable
Write-through Cacheable
Write-back Cacheable
For normal memory that is shared between several processors.
Non-shared Non-cacheable
Write-through Cacheable
Write-back Cacheable
For normal memory that only a single processor uses.