Computer Caches

The basics of a cache are to store files on the server of the most frequently used central memory locations. A cache is a safe place for hiding or storing things. It helps improve response time when retrieving the files. If most memory accesses are to cached memory locations, the average latency of memory accesses will be closer to the cache latency than to the latency of main memory. 

There are many ways to measure and improve cache performance. One technique is reducing the miss rate by decreasing the probability that two different memory blocks will contend for the exact cache location. Another technique reduces the miss penalty by adding a level to the hierarchy. The memory hierarchy separates computer storage into a hierarchy based on response time. It arranges the memory in a hierarchy way to efficiently improve slower devices such as the register and cache memory. Each of the various components can be viewed as part of a hierarchy of memories. 

A virtual machine, commonly shortened to just VM, has a CPU, memory, disks to store your files and can connect to the internet. VMs are often thought of as virtual computers or software defined computers within physical servers, existing only as code. Virtual memory uses hardware and software to allow a computer to compensate for physical memory shortages by temporarily transferring data from random access memory (RAM) to disk storage. In essence, virtual memory allows a computer to treat secondary memory as though it were the main memory.