Cache on a STick

What Does Cache on a STick Mean?

Cache on a STick (COASt) is a memory module used to provide additional layers of cache memory on a computer. Implemented in the 1990s, it is a type of external cache that allowed an underlying computer to have an L2 cache.

Techopedia Explains Cache on a STick

Physically, COASt is a type of fast pipeline-burst static random access memory (SRAM) technology similar to a large single inline memory module (SIMM). It is a mapped cache with a capacity of 256-512 Kb. It also has faster but smaller native random access memory (RAM) modules, which are used for storing cache tags.

COASt is typically installed as a standalone memory component on a card edge low profile (CELP) slot on a computer motherboard. COASt uses data buses to interact with primary cache and other memory modules.

Related Reading

Margaret Rouse

Technology Expert

Margaret is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.

All Articles by Margaret Rouse