Windows Internals, Fifth Edition

Cache Virtual Memory Management

Because the Windows system cache manager caches data on a virtual basis, it uses up regions of system virtual address space (instead of physical memory) and manages them in structures called virtual address control blocks, or VACBs. VACBs define these regions of address space into 256-KB slots called views. When the cache manager initializes during the bootup process, it allocates an initial array of VACBs to describe cached memory. As caching requirements grow and more memory is required, the cache manager allocates more VACB arrays, as needed. It can also shrink virtual address space as other demands put pressure on the system.

At a file’s first I/O (read or write) operation, the cache manager maps a 256-KB view ...