Method and apparatus for developing multiprocessor cache control protocols by presenting a clean victim signal to an external system

A multiprocessor system includes a plurality of processors, each processor having one or more caches local to the processor, and a memory controller connectable to the plurality of processors and a main memory. The memory controller manages the caches and the main memory of the multiprocessor system. A processor of the multiprocessor system is configurable to evict from its cache a block of data. The selected block may have a clean coherence state or a dirty coherence state. The processor communicates a notify signal indicating eviction of the selected block to the memory controller. In addition to sending a write victim notify signal if the selected block has a dirty coherence state, the processor sends a clean victim notify signal if the selected block has a clean coherence state (Full Patent Here).