Memory Management

Detailed explanation of the memory pool design.

Overview

Mini-ImagePipe uses a two-tier memory pool system:

• Pinned host memory: For fast async transfers
• Device memory: For GPU operations

Best-Fit Allocation

The memory manager uses best-fit allocation to minimize fragmentation:

void* MemoryManager::allocateDevice(size_t size) {
    // Find smallest block that fits
    auto best = findBestFit(size);
    if (best) {
        // Split if much larger than needed
        if (best->size > size + SPLIT_THRESHOLD) {
            splitBlock(best, size);
        }
        return best->ptr;
    }
    // Allocate new block
    return allocateNewBlock(size);
}

Pool Reuse

Buffers are retained between pipeline executions:

Execution 1: Allocate buffers
Execution 2: Reuse buffers (no allocation)
Execution 3: Reuse buffers (no allocation)
...

Configuration

PipelineConfig config;
config.pinnedPoolSize = 64 * 1024 * 1024;   // 64MB
// Device pool behavior is managed internally by MemoryManager.

Thread Safety

MemoryManager uses mutex locks for thread-safe pool operations.