U.S. patent application number 16/693801 was filed with the patent office on 2020-06-18 for handling operation collisions in a non-volatile memory.
The applicant listed for this patent is Micron Technology, Inc.. Invention is credited to Lyle E. Adams, Mark Ish, Karl D. Schuh, Pushpa Seetamraju, Dan Tupy.
Application Number | 20200192844 16/693801 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 69057571 |
Filed Date | 2020-06-18 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20200192844 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Adams; Lyle E. ; et
al. |
June 18, 2020 |
HANDLING OPERATION COLLISIONS IN A NON-VOLATILE MEMORY
Abstract
A first operation identifier is assigned to a first operation
directed to a memory component, the first operation identifier
having an entry in a first data structure that associates the first
operation identifier with a first plurality of buffer identifiers.
It is determined whether the first operation collides with a prior
operation assigned a second operation identifier, the second
operation identifier having an entry in the first data structure
that associates the second operation identifier with a second
plurality of buffer identifiers. It is determined whether the first
operation is a read or a write operation. In response to
determining that the first operation collides with the prior
operation and that the first operation is a read operation, the
first plurality of buffer identifiers are updated with a buffer
identifier included in the second plurality of buffer
identifiers.
Inventors: |
Adams; Lyle E.; (San Jose,
CA) ; Ish; Mark; (San Ramon, CA) ; Seetamraju;
Pushpa; (San Jose, CA) ; Schuh; Karl D.;
(Santa Cruz, CA) ; Tupy; Dan; (Roseville,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Micron Technology, Inc. |
Boise |
ID |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
69057571 |
Appl. No.: |
16/693801 |
Filed: |
November 25, 2019 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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16223057 |
Dec 17, 2018 |
10521383 |
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16693801 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 13/376 20130101;
G06F 13/1631 20130101; G06F 3/0659 20130101; G06F 3/061 20130101;
G06F 3/067 20130101; G06F 13/1673 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06F 13/376 20060101
G06F013/376; G06F 3/06 20060101 G06F003/06; G06F 13/16 20060101
G06F013/16 |
Claims
1. A method comprising: assigning a first operation identifier to a
current operation directed to a memory component, the first
operation identifier having a first entry in a first data structure
that associates the first operation identifier with a first buffer
identifier; determining whether the current operation collides with
a prior operation assigned a second operation identifier, the
second operation identifier having a second entry in the first data
structure that associates the second operation identifier with a
second buffer identifier; determining whether the current operation
is a read or a write operation; and updating, in response to
determining that the current operation collides with the prior
operation and that the current operation is a write operation, a
latest flag to indicate that the second entry is no longer the
latest of multiple operations directed to an address.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining whether the
current operation collides with the prior operation comprises
checking a second data structure for an entry that has an address
that matches the address to which the current operation is
directed.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising incrementing a counter
associated with the first buffer identifier.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data structure is
stored in a memory outside of the memory component.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: assigning a third
operation identifier to a subsequent operation directed to a memory
component, the third operation identifier having an entry in the
first data structure that associates the third operation identifier
with a plurality of buffer identifiers; and updating, in response
to determining that the subsequent operation collides with the
current operation and that the subsequent operation is a read
operation, the plurality of buffer identifiers to include a buffer
identifier associated with the current operation.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the updating comprises replacing
a buffer identifier included in the plurality of buffer identifiers
with the buffer identifier associated with the current
operation.
7. The method of claim 5, further comprising: determining that the
prior operation is a read operation; and updating, in response to
determining that the subsequent operation collides with the prior
operation and that the prior operation is a read operation, the
entry in the first data structure associated with the second
operation identifier to identify the third operation
identifier.
8. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising
instructions that, when executed by a processing device, cause the
processing device to: assign a first operation identifier to a
current operation directed to a memory component, the first
operation identifier having a first entry in a first data structure
that associates the first operation identifier with a first buffer
identifier; determine whether the current operation collides with a
prior operation assigned a second operation identifier, the second
operation identifier having a second entry in the first data
structure that associates the second operation identifier with a
second buffer identifier; determine whether the current operation
is a read or a write operation; and update, in response to
determining that the current operation collides with the prior
operation and that the current operation is a write operation, a
latest flag to indicate that the second entry is no longer the
latest of multiple operations directed to an address.
9. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8,
wherein the determining whether the current operation collides with
the prior operation comprises checking a second data structure for
an entry that has an address that matches the address to which the
current operation is directed.
10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8,
wherein the processing device is further to increment a counter
associated with the first buffer identifier.
11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8,
wherein the first data structure is stored in a memory outside of
the memory component.
12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8,
wherein the processing device is further to: assign a third
operation identifier to a subsequent operation directed to a memory
component, the third operation identifier having an entry in the
first data structure that associates the third operation identifier
with a plurality of buffer identifiers; and update, in response to
determining that the subsequent operation collides with the current
operation and that the subsequent operation is a read operation,
the plurality of buffer identifiers to include a buffer identifier
associated with the current operation.
13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim
12, wherein the updating comprises replacing a buffer identifier
included in the plurality of buffer identifiers with the buffer
identifier associated with the current operation.
14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim
12, wherein the processing device is further to: determine that the
prior operation is a read operation; and update, in response to
determining that the subsequent operation collides with the prior
operation and that the prior operation is a read operation, the
entry in the first data structure associated with the second
operation identifier to identify the third operation
identifier.
15. A system comprising: a memory component; and a processing
device, operatively coupled with the memory component, to: assign a
first operation identifier to a current operation directed to the
memory component, the first operation identifier having a first
entry in a first data structure that associates the first operation
identifier with a first buffer identifier; determine whether the
current operation collides with a prior operation assigned a second
operation identifier, the second operation identifier having a
second entry in the first data structure that associates the second
operation identifier with a second buffer identifier; determine
whether the current operation is a read or a write operation;
update, in response to determining that the current operation
collides with the prior operation and that the current operation is
a write operation, a latest flag to indicate that the second entry
is no longer the latest of multiple operations directed to an
address; and increment a counter associated with the first buffer
identifier.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein the determining whether the
current operation collides with the prior operation comprises
checking a second data structure for an entry that has an address
that matches the address to which the current operation is
directed.
17. The system of claim 15, wherein the first data structure is
stored in a memory outside of the memory component.
18. The system of claim 15, wherein the processing device is
further to: assign a third operation identifier to a subsequent
operation directed to a memory component, the third operation
identifier having an entry in the first data structure that
associates the third operation identifier with a plurality of
buffer identifiers; and update, in response to determining that the
subsequent operation collides with the current operation and that
the subsequent operation is a read operation, the plurality of
buffer identifiers to include a buffer identifier associated with
the current operation.
19. The system of claim 18, wherein the updating comprises
replacing a buffer identifier included in the plurality of buffer
identifiers with the buffer identifier associated with the current
operation.
20. The system of claim 18, wherein the processing device is
further to: determine that the prior operation is a read operation;
and update, in response to determining that the subsequent
operation collides with the prior operation and that the prior
operation is a read operation, the entry in the first data
structure associated with the second operation identifier to
identify the third operation identifier.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 16/223,057, filed Dec. 17, 2018, which is
hereby incorporated by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present disclosure generally relates to non-volatile
memory, and more specifically, relates to handling operation
conditions in a non-volatile memory.
BACKGROUND ART
[0003] A memory sub-system can be a storage system, such as a
solid-state drive (SSD), or a hard disk drive (HDD). A memory
sub-system can be a memory module, such as a dual in-line memory
module (DIMM), a small outline DIMM (SO-DIMM), or a non-volatile
dual in-line memory module (NVDIMM). A memory sub-system can
include one or more memory components that store data. The memory
components can be, for example, non-volatile memory components and
volatile memory components. In general, a host system can utilize a
memory subsystem to store data at the memory components and to
retrieve data from the memory components.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0004] The disclosure will be understood more fully from the
detailed description given below and from the accompanying drawings
of various embodiments of the disclosure. The drawings, however,
should not be taken to limit the disclosure to the specific
embodiments, but are for explanation and understanding only.
[0005] FIG. 1 illustrates an example computing environment that
includes a memory subsystem that manages operation collisions in
accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0006] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary set of data structures used
in the management of operation collisions in a memory subsystem in
accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0007] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an example method to manage
operation collisions in accordance with some embodiments of the
present disclosure.
[0008] FIGS. 4A-4E illustrates an exemplary series of colliding
operations with reference to the exemplary set of data structures
of FIG. 2 in accordance with some embodiments of the present
disclosure.
[0009] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example computer system in
which embodiments of the present disclosure may operate.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0010] Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to handling
operation collisions in a memory subsystem. A memory subsystem is
also hereinafter referred to as a "memory device." An example of a
memory subsystem is a memory module that is connected to a central
processing unit (CPU) via a memory bus. Examples of memory modules
include a dual in-line memory module (DIMM), a small outline DIMM
(SO-DIMM), a non-volatile dual in-line memory module (NVDIMM), etc.
Another example of a memory subsystem is a storage device that is
connected to the central processing unit (CPU) via a peripheral
interconnect (e.g., an input/output bus, a storage area network,
etc.). Examples of storage devices include a solid-state drive
(SSD), a flash drive, a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive, and
a hard disk drive (HDD). In some embodiments, the memory subsystem
is a hybrid memory/storage subsystem. In general, a host system can
utilize a memory subsystem that includes one or more memory
components. The host system can provide data to be stored at the
memory subsystem and can request data to be retrieved from the
memory subsystem.
[0011] Memory subsystems read or write data in blocks to media.
Addresses specify locations within the media where such blocks,
sometimes referred to as sectors or pages, are located. Host
systems and media management processes internal to a memory
subsystem may issue commands to read data from media or write data
to media. Regardless of the origin of a command, memory subsystems
include a delay between receiving a command and performing the
associated read or write operation with the media. Additionally,
the memory subsystem may introduce additional delays on individual
commands so to collect groups of commands to be carried out with
the media together. For example, a memory subsystem may buffer
write commands such that the memory subsystem builds up some number
of write operations before the associated data is written as a
group to media, or the memory subsystem may re-order commands to
improve the overall performance of the memory subsystem. These
delays result in a disconnect between how the issuer of the command
views the data stored on the media and the actual state of the data
stored on the media. For example, a host system may write a value
to an address of a memory subsystem, which in turn buffers the
value for some period of time prior to writing the value to the
media. If the host system attempts to read that value from the
memory subsystem before the value has been committed to the media,
the memory subsystem would return an erroneous value if it returned
the value stored in the media rather than the value in the buffer.
Commands are sometimes referred to as "in-flight" during the period
between receiving a command and the actual execution of that
command on media. Collisions occur when in-flight operations target
the same address. For example, a read command may follow a write
command before the data associated with the write is written to
media. If the memory subsystem fulfills the read command from the
media (e.g., while buffering the write data to group with other
write commands), the memory subsystem can return erroneous data to
the issuer of the command. To avoid returning erroneous data, some
memory subsystems block colliding operations resulting in a
reduction in performance because the blocked operations must wait
for the blocking operations to complete before they can be
processed.
[0012] Aspects of the present disclosure address the above and
other deficiencies by detecting operation collisions and allowing
colliding operations to proceed without blocking. Embodiments
include a memory subsystem that checks for collisions of in-flight
operations. In particular, a coherency checker component checks for
and handles collisions. The coherency checker component maintains a
data structure that identifies the latest in-flight operation to
any address. Upon receipt of a new operation, the coherency checker
checks whether the address of the new operation matches any of the
addresses associated with the latest pending operations. In the
case of a collision, the memory subsystem updates flags and buffer
identifiers associated with the new and matching operations. As a
result, embodiments of the present disclosure can ensure that one
or more of the following occur: (1) write operations that collide
with previous write operations supersede the prior write operations
to avoid unnecessary writes to media, (2) read operations that
collide with previous write operations are satisfied using the
in-flight write data, and (3) read operations that collide with
previous read operations are chained such that a single media
access satisfies each of the colliding read operations. In doing
so, embodiments of the present disclosure provide one or more of
the following: improved data integrity, efficient use of buffer
memory resources, a reduction in the number of operations that
require a media access, increased performance by avoiding blocking
colliding operations, and avoiding disturbing data stored on the
media.
[0013] FIG. 1 illustrates an example computing environment 100 that
includes a memory subsystem 110 that manages operation collisions
in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The
memory subsystem 110 can include media, such as memory components
112A to 112N. The memory components 112A to 112N can be volatile
memory components, non-volatile memory components, or a combination
of such. In some embodiments, the memory subsystem is a storage
system. An example of a storage system is an SSD. In some
embodiments, the memory subsystem 110 is a hybrid memory/storage
subsystem. In general, the computing environment 100 can include a
host system 130 that uses the memory subsystem 110. For example,
the host system 130 can write data to the memory subsystem 110 and
read data from the memory subsystem 110.
[0014] The host system 130 can be a computing device such as a
desktop computer, laptop computer, network server, mobile device,
or such computing device that includes a memory and a processing
device. The host system 130 can include or be coupled to the memory
subsystem 110 so that the host system 130 can read data from or
write data to the memory subsystem 110. The host system 130 can be
coupled to the memory subsystem 110 via a physical host interface.
As used herein, "coupled to" generally refers to a connection
between components, which can be an indirect communicative
connection or direct communicative connection (e.g., without
intervening components), whether wired or wireless, including
connections such as electrical, optical, magnetic, etc. Examples of
a physical host interface include, but are not limited to, a serial
advanced technology attachment (SATA) interface, a peripheral
component interconnect express (PCIe) interface, universal serial
bus (USB) interface, Fibre Channel, Serial Attached SCSI (SAS),
etc. The physical host interface can be used to transmit data
between the host system 130 and the memory subsystem 110. The host
system 130 can further utilize an NVM Express (NVMe) interface to
access the memory components 112A to 112N when the memory subsystem
110 is coupled with the host system 130 by the PCIe interface. The
physical host interface can provide an interface for passing
control, address, data, and other signals between the memory
subsystem 110 and the host system 130.
[0015] The memory components 112A to 112N can include any
combination of the different types of non-volatile memory
components and/or volatile memory components. An example of
non-volatile memory components includes a negative-and (NAND) type
flash memory. Each of the memory components 112A to 112N can
include one or more arrays of memory cells such as single level
cells (SLCs) or multi-level cells (MLCs) (e.g., triple level cells
(TLCs) or quad-level cells (QLCs)). In some embodiments, a
particular memory component can include both an SLC portion and a
MLC portion of memory cells. Each of the memory cells can store one
or more bits of data (e.g., data blocks) used by the host system
130. Although non-volatile memory components such as NAND type
flash memory are described, the memory components 112A to 112N can
be based on any other type of memory such as a volatile memory. In
some embodiments, the memory components 112A to 112N can be, but
are not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory
(ROM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic
random access memory (SDRAM), phase change memory (PCM), magneto
random access memory (MRAM), negative-or (NOR) flash memory,
electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), and a
cross-point array of non-volatile memory cells. A cross-point array
of non-volatile memory can perform bit storage based on a change of
bulk resistance, in conjunction with a stackable cross-gridded data
access array. Additionally, in contrast to many flash-based
memories, cross-point non-volatile memory can perform a write
in-place operation, where a non-volatile memory cell can be
programmed without the non-volatile memory cell being previously
erased. Furthermore, the memory cells of the memory components 112A
to 112N can be grouped as memory pages or data blocks that can
refer to a unit of the memory component used to store data.
[0016] The memory system controller 115 (hereinafter referred to as
"controller") can communicate with the memory components 112A to
112N to perform operations such as reading data, writing data, or
erasing data at the memory components 112A to 112N and other such
operations. The controller 115 can include hardware such as one or
more integrated circuits and/or discrete components, a buffer
memory, or a combination thereof. The controller 115 can be a
microcontroller, special purpose logic circuitry (e.g., a field
programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated
circuit (ASIC), etc.), or other suitable processor. The controller
115 can include a processor (processing device) 117 configured to
execute instructions stored in local memory 119. In the illustrated
example, the local memory 119 of the controller 115 includes an
embedded memory configured to store instructions for performing
various processes, operations, logic flows, and routines that
control operation of the memory subsystem 110, including handling
communications between the memory subsystem 110 and the host system
130. In some embodiments, the local memory 119 can include memory
registers storing memory pointers, fetched data, etc. The local
memory 119 can also include read-only memory (ROM) for storing
micro-code. Although illustrated as part of controller 115, the
local memory 119 may comprise one or more internal memories within
the controller 115 and/or one or more external memories coupled to
the controller 115. While the example memory subsystem 110 in FIG.
1 has been illustrated as including the controller 115, in another
embodiment of the present disclosure, a memory subsystem 110 may
not include a controller 115, and may instead rely upon external
control (e.g., provided by an external host, or by a processor or
controller separate from the memory subsystem).
[0017] In general, the controller 115 can receive commands or
operations from the host system 130 and can convert the commands or
operations into instructions or appropriate commands to achieve the
desired access to the memory components 112A to 112N. The
controller 115 can be responsible for other operations such as wear
leveling operations, garbage collection operations, error detection
and error-correcting code (ECC) operations, encryption operations,
caching operations, and address translations between a logical
block address and a physical block address that are associated with
the memory components 112A to 112N. The controller 115 can further
include host interface circuitry to communicate with the host
system 130 via the physical host interface. The host interface
circuitry can convert the commands received from the host system
into command instructions to access the memory components 112A to
112N as well as convert responses associated with the memory
components 112A to 112N into information for the host system
130.
[0018] The memory subsystem 110 can also include additional
circuitry or components that are not illustrated. In some
embodiments, the memory subsystem 110 can include a cache or buffer
(e.g., DRAM) and address circuitry (e.g., a row decoder and a
column decoder) that can receive an address from the controller 115
and decode the address to access the memory components 112A to
112N.
[0019] The memory subsystem 110 includes a coherency checker
component 113 ("coherency checker 113") that can detect in-flight
operation collisions so that the coherency checker component 113
and the processor 117, can manage such collisions. The coherency
checker component 113, in conjunction with the processor 117,
maintain and refer to several data structures and buffers stored in
the local memory 119, including an operations table 121, a
coherency table 123, buffer status data 125, and a plurality of
buffers 127, each of which is described in further detail below
with reference to FIG. 2. Although certain operations are described
as performed by either the coherency checker component 113 or the
processor 117, in certain embodiments described herein, such
operations may be implemented as part of the controller 115 as
hardware, software, or as a combination of hardware and software.
For example, the operations of the coherency checker 113 as
described herein may be implemented as software instructions
executed by the processor 117 or another processing device of the
controller 115, and the operations of the processor 117 may be
implemented by dedicated hardware or circuitry of the controller
115. Further details with regards to the operations of the
coherency checker 113 are described below.
[0020] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary set of data structures used
in the management of operation collisions in a memory subsystem in
accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The
data structures include an operations table 121, a coherency table
123, buffer status data 125, and buffers 127. In some embodiments,
the data structures are stored in the local memory 119.
[0021] Buffers 127 represent regions in memory allocated for
individual buffers (e.g., buffers 127-1 through 127-P). Buffers 127
store data associated with read or write operations. For write
operations, the processor 117 allocates one or more buffers 127 to
store the data associated with the write operation before it is
written to media. In some embodiments, the processor allocates two
buffers per write operation: one buffer to store unencoded data and
another buffer to store encoded data (e.g., data with error
correcting codes that is written to media). For read operations,
the processor 117 allocates one or more buffers 127 to store the
data read from the media prior to sending such data to the issuer
of the read operation. In some embodiments, the processor 117
allocates buffers in response to receiving a read or a write
command, while in other embodiments the processor 117 defers buffer
allocation until the data to be buffered is available.
[0022] The operations table 121 stores data related to all
in-flight operations. Each in-flight operation has an entry within
the operations table 121. Each entry in the operations table 121
has several fields, including an operation identifier 211, an
address 213, a first buffer identifier 215 (sometimes referred to
as "buffer0" for the entry), and a second buffer identifier 217
(sometimes referred to as "buffer1" for the entry). The operation
identifier 211 uniquely identifies a given in-flight operation from
other in-flight operations. In some embodiments, the processor 117
assigns the operation identifier 211 to each operation whether
received from the host system 130 or from an internal media
management process. In some embodiments, the operation identifier
211 implicitly distinguishes between read and write operations
(e.g., identifiers that end in a `0` correspond to reads, while
identifiers that end in a `1` correspond to writes). In other
embodiments, an entry 121 includes another field (not shown) that
identifies the operation type as a read or a write. The address 213
corresponds a location in media associated with the operation, such
as a logical address or a physical address. The first buffer
identifier 215 and the second buffer identifier 217 can be used to
identify buffers 127 and buffer status entries 125. In identifying
buffers 127 or buffer status entries 125, the buffer identifiers
215 and 217 can correspond to memory locations in the buffers 127
or to entries in the buffer status data 125. For example, the
buffer identifiers 215, 217 can index the memory address range
allocated for the buffer status data 125 and the buffers 127 as an
offset to starting addresses associated with the buffer status data
125 and with the buffers 127.
[0023] The coherency table 123 stores data for managing collisions
of in-flight operations. Each in-flight operation has an entry
within the coherency table 123. Each entry in the coherency table
123 has several fields, including an operation identifier 251, an
address 253, a latest flag 255, and a type flag 257. The operation
identifier 251 corresponds to the operation identifier 211 that is
used to uniquely identify in-flight operations. The address 253
corresponds to the media address associated with the operation. The
latest flag 255 indicates whether the particular entry within the
coherency table 123 is the latest of potentially multiple
operations targeting the same media address. For example, if the
coherency table 123 includes an entry for address 5 and a new
operation targets address 5, the entry in the coherency table 123
associated with the new operation would have the latest flag set
while the earlier entry would not. The type flag 257 can be
included to indicate whether the operation associated with the
entry is a read or a write operation. Again, in some embodiments,
such an indication can be implicit within the operation identifier
251 and thus not stored as a separate field within an entry. In
some embodiments, the coherency table 123 and the operations table
121 are combined such that an entry in the combined table includes
an operation identifier 211, an address 213, a first buffer
identifier 215, a second buffer identifier 217, a latest flag 255,
and a type flag 257. By separating the tables, the processor 117
and the coherency checker 113 may have different access permissions
to the data (e.g., only the coherency checker can write or modify
the coherency table 123).
[0024] The buffer status data 125 stores data about each buffer in
the buffers 127. Each buffer has an associated entry in the buffer
status data 125. Each entry in the buffer status data 125 includes
a counter 271 and a valid flag 273. The counter 271 reflects the
number of in-flight operations that are pending against the
associated buffer. The valid flag 273 indicates whether the data
stored in the buffer is valid. For example, the processor 117 may
set the valid flag 273 associated with a buffer allocated to a read
operation once the data has been read from media. As another
example, the processor 117 may clear the valid flag 273 in response
to the coherency checker indicating that a write operation has
superseded a buffer associated with a previous write operation. In
some embodiments, entries in the buffer status data 125 are
combined with its associated buffer in a single block of memory
(e.g., the buffer status data 125 and buffers 127 are interleaved
within the same memory space).
[0025] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an example method 300 to manage
operation collisions in accordance with some embodiments of the
present disclosure. The method 300 can be performed by processing
logic that can include hardware (e.g., processing device,
circuitry, dedicated logic, programmable logic, microcode, hardware
of a device, integrated circuit, etc.), software (e.g.,
instructions run or executed on a processing device), or a
combination thereof. In some embodiments, the method 300 is
performed by components of the controller 115, such as the
processor 117 and the coherency checker 113, as indicated below.
Although shown in a particular sequence or order, unless otherwise
specified, the order of the processes can be modified. Thus, the
illustrated embodiments should be understood only as examples, and
the illustrated processes can be performed in a different order,
and some processes can be performed in parallel. Additionally, one
or more processes can be omitted in various embodiments. Thus, not
all processes are required in every embodiment. Other process flows
are possible.
[0026] At block 310, the processing device receives a new command
associated with an address and assigns an operation identifier to
the new command. The operation identifier uniquely identifies the
command relative to other in-flight commands. Operation identifiers
can be consecutively assigned values from zero to N where N is
large enough such that by the time the operation identifiers
restart at zero any pending operations previously assigned
low-numbered operation identifiers have been completed. In this
example, the operation identifier assigned to the new command is
referenced as "B." With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, these
operations may be performed by the processor 117 as part of
creating a new entry within the operations table 121 that includes
the assigned operation identifier and two buffer identifiers. In
some embodiments, the processor 117 further allocates two buffers
and initially sets the buffer identifiers to identify the two
allocated buffers.
[0027] At block 312, the processing device adds an entry for the
operation identifier B to a coherency table. For example, the
processor 117 sends a message to the coherency checker 113, the
message including one or more of the fields of the entry within the
operations table created at block 310 and associated with the
operation identifier B. The coherency checker 113 creates a new
entry within the coherency table 123 for the operation identifier
B. The new entry for the operation includes the operation
identifier B, the associated address, and may include a type field
indicating whether the operation associated with operation
identifier B is a read or a write operation (e.g., if such an
indication is not implicit within operation identifier B). Whether
a latest flag associated with the new entry in the coherency table
123 is set is described below.
[0028] At block 315, the processing device determines whether
another entry in the coherency table includes an address that
matches the address associated with the operation identifier B and
has the latest flag set. Here, the coherency checker 113 detects
collisions between in-flight operations. For example, the coherency
checker 113 compares the address of the operation identifier B to
each of the addresses 253 within the other entries in the coherency
table 123 that have a latest flag 255 set. In some embodiments, the
coherency checker 113 sequentially compares each candidate entry in
the coherency table 123 to identify a collision. In some
embodiments, the coherency checker 113 can look-up a colliding
entry in the coherency table directly (e.g., using a
content-addressable memory indexed by address that stores a value
identifying the entry (if any) associated with the latest
operation). Note that the addresses used in the comparison may be
logical or physical addresses, depending on any address
translations that occur between the address space of the host
system 130 and the physical addresses of the media (e.g., memory
components 112A to 112N). As described below, the latest flags
associated with entries in the coherency table 123 allow the
coherency checker to maintain the identity of the latest in-flight
operation. In this example, the operation identifier associated
with a matching entry, if any, is referred to as operation
identifier A. If there is no match, operations of the method 300
proceed to block 345, otherwise, operations continue to block
320.
[0029] At block 320, the processing device checks whether the
operation type associated with the operation identifier B is a read
or a write. For example, the coherency checker 113 checks the
operation identifier B (e.g., if the operation type is implicit in
the operation identifier) or another field (e.g., stored in the
coherency table entry for operation identifier B) that indicates
the operation type. If the operation associated with operation
identifier B is a write command, operations of the method 300
proceed to block 340, otherwise, operations continue to block
325.
[0030] At block 325, the processing device updates a buffer
identifier associated with the operation identifier B with an
identifier of a first buffer associated with the operation
identifier A. At this stage, the processing device has determined
that there is a collision between the operation associated with
operation identifier B--a read operation--and a prior operation
associated with operation identifier A. As a result, the coherency
checker 113 updates a buffer identifier associated with operation
identifier B to point to a buffer identified by a buffer identifier
associated with the operation identified by operation identifier A.
For example, if the operation associated with operation identifier
A is a write operation, the coherency checker 113 redirects the
subsequent read operation to the buffer associated with the write
operation that contains the unencoded write data. As another
example, if the operation associated with operation identifier A
was a read operation, the coherency checker redirects the
subsequent read operation to the buffer containing the data read
from media (or the buffer where the data will be stored once it is
read from media). To perform the update, the coherency checker 113
may update the entry associated with operation identifier B in the
operations table 121 directly or cause the processor 117 to perform
the update.
[0031] At block 330, the processing device checks whether the
operation type associated with the operation identifier A is a read
or a write. Again, the coherency checker 113 may check the
operation identifier A (e.g., if the type is implicit in the
operation identifier) or another field (e.g., stored in the
coherency table entry for operation identifier A) that indicates
the operation type. If the operation associated with operation
identifier A is a write command, operations of the method 300
proceed to block 350, otherwise, operations continue to block
335.
[0032] At block 335, the processing device updates a buffer
identifier of a second buffer associated with the operation
identifier A to identify the operation identifier B (rather than a
buffer). At this stage, the processing device has determined that
there is a collision of sequential read operations. By updating a
buffer identifier associated with the original read operation to
identify the operation identifier of the subsequent read operation,
the processing device can identify the subsequent read operation(s)
that can be fulfilled after the original read operation is
fulfilled (e.g., with data read from the media). In other words,
once the processing device has read the data from the media into a
first buffer identified by a buffer identifier associated with
operation identifier A, the processing device can identify the next
pending read operation (e.g., operation identifier B) based on the
operation identifier stored in the buffer identifier associated
with operation identifier A. As a result, the operation associated
with operation identifier B can be fulfilled without performing
another media read operation. To perform the update at block 335,
the coherency checker 113 may update the entry associated with
operation identifier A in the operations table 121 directly or
cause the processor 117 to perform the update.
[0033] At block 340, the processing device clears the latest flag
associated with the operation identifier A in the coherency table.
At this stage, the processing device has determined that the
operation associated with operation identifier B (whether a read or
a write) collided with a prior read operation identified by
operation identifier A. The coherency checker 113 clears the latest
flag associated with operation identifier A in the coherency
table.
[0034] At block 345, the processing device sets the latest flag
associated with the operation identifier B in the coherency table.
At this stage, the processing device has determined that there was
no collision or that the operation associated with operation
identifier B (whether a read or a write) collided with a prior read
operation identified by operation identifier A. The coherency
checker 113 sets the latest flag associated with the operation
identifier B in the coherency table.
[0035] At block 350, the processing device increments a counter
indicating the number of operations associated with a buffer
identifier associated with the operation identifier B. In
particular, a counter 271 in the buffer status data 125 tracks
whether an associated buffer has pending operations against it. A
non-zero value indicates there are pending operations. If there is
no collision, the counter associated with the newly allocated
buffer for the command is incremented from `0` to `1` (where it is
initialized to `0`). If there is a collision with a previous read
or write operation, the processing device updates the buffer
identifier associated with the latest operation to point to the
buffer identified by the previous operation and increments the
counter associated with that buffer. For example, a read operation
may collide with an in-flight write operation. As a result, the
buffer for the pending write operation may also have the pending
read operation outstanding against it, so the associated counter
would be incremented from `1` to `2` reflect the two pending
operations associated with the buffer. As subsequent commands are
redirected to buffers associated with previous in-flight commands,
the associated counters may be incremented accordingly (e.g., from
`1` to `2,` from `2` to `3`, etc.).
[0036] Note that the method 300 results in the coherency table
entry associated with the most recent operation having the latest
flag set for colliding writes, colliding reads, and writes
following reads. When a read operation follows a write operation,
method 300 proceeds from block 330 to block 350 and the latest flag
associated with the write operation remains set. As a result, in
the case of a read operation colliding with an earlier write
operation, the read operation and any subsequent read operations
without an intervening write operation are fulfilled from the
buffer associated with the write operation.
[0037] In some embodiments, the processes associated with blocks
315 through 350 are atomic in that no other operations can modify
the coherency table during the processing associated with blocks
315 through 320.
[0038] While not illustrated in FIG. 3, the coherency checker 113
returns information related to a collision (if any) to the
processor 117 in some embodiments. Such information can include the
operation identifier in the coherency table entry that resulted in
the collision. The processor 117 can track these collisions to
determine when to release allocated buffers, flush any associated
buffer status data, and instruct the coherency checker 113 to
remove entries from the coherency table 123 as media operations
complete.
[0039] FIGS. 4A-4E illustrate an exemplary series of colliding
operations with reference to the exemplary set of data structures
of FIG. 2 in accordance with some embodiments of the present
disclosure. In particular, FIGS. 4A-4E illustrate a
read-read-write-read-write operation collision sequence to address
"5" before the first read operation is satisfied from the media
(e.g., memory components 112A to 112N). The operations may be
initiated by the host system 130 or by media management processes
carried out by the controller 115. Changes to data in the various
data structures are indicated by an arrow (".fwdarw.").
[0040] FIG. 4A illustrates the state of the data structures after a
read operation to read the data at address 5 is initiated but
before the data is obtained from the media (e.g., memory components
112A-112N). Upon receipt of the read operation (e.g., from the host
system 130 or from a media management process internal to the
memory subsystem 110), the processor 117 assigns operation
identifier A to the read operation and adds an operations table
entry 121-A to the operations table 121. Operations table entry
121-A includes an identification of the associated address (5), and
buffer identifiers "B0" and "B1" that identify buffers 127-A1 and
127-A2 in the buffers 127. Buffer identifiers B0 and B1 also
identify buffer status entries 125-A1 and 125-A2 in the buffer
status data 125. Since the data has not been read from media, the
buffer status entries 125-A1 and 125-A2 indicate whatever data (if
any) stored in the buffers 127-A1 and 127-A2 is invalid.
[0041] The processor 117 initiates a collision check with the
coherency checker 113 based on the operation identifier A. The
processor 117 can further send the address and the type of the
operation to the coherency checker 113, or the coherency checker
113 can obtain the address from the operations table 121. Note that
for illustrative purposes, the coherency table 123 includes an
operation type (e.g., read or write) while the operations table 121
does not include an operation type. As indicated above, operation
types may be implicit in the assigned operation identifiers or
stored as a separate value in one or both of the operations table
121 or the coherency table 123, depending on the implementation.
Since this is the first operation in this exemplary collision
sequence, the coherency checker 113 checks whether the coherency
table 123 includes an entry with the same address and having the
latest flag set and does not identify a collision. The coherency
checker adds coherency table entry 123-A to the coherency table
123. The coherency table entry 123-A indicates that operation
identifier A is a read operation of address 5. The coherency
checker 113 sets the latest flag associated with entry 123-A since
this is the only in-flight operation directed to address 5. In this
embodiment, buffer0 is used to buffer data read from media before
being sent to the host system 130, so the coherency checker 113
updates the counter associated with buffer0 from 0 to 1. After
incrementing the counter, the buffer status entry 125-A1 indicates
that there is one pending operation (the read) against the buffer
127-A1. With reference to FIG. 3, the state of the data structures
in FIG. 4A reflects the block sequence 310, 312, 315, 345, and
350.
[0042] FIG. 4B illustrates the state of the data structures after
the receipt of another read operation of the data at address 5
following the previous read operation described with reference to
FIG. 4A. Upon receipt of the read operation, the processor 117
assigns operation identifier B to the read operation and adds
operations table entry 121-B to the operations table 121.
Operations table entry 121-B includes an identification of the
associated address (5), and buffer identifiers "B2" and "B3" that
initially identify buffers 127-B1 and 127-B2 in the buffers 127.
Buffer identifiers B2 and B3 also identify buffer status entries
125-B1 and 125-B2 in the buffer status data 125 that indicate the
data (if any) stored in buffers 127-B1 and 127-B2 is invalid.
[0043] The processor 117 initiates a collision check with the
coherency checker 113 based on the operation identifier B and may
send the address and type of operation, as described above with
reference to FIG. 4A. Since the read operation associated with FIG.
4B is the second operation in the collision sequence, when the
coherency checker 113 checks whether the coherency table 123
includes an entry with the same address and having the latest flag
set, the coherency checker 113 identifies a collision with the
coherency table entry 123-A. The coherency checker 113 updates the
buffer1 buffer identifier associated with operations table entry
121-A to identify operation identifier B. Since this is a read
operation colliding with a prior read operation, the coherency
checker 113 further updates the buffer0 buffer identifier
associated with operations table entry 121-B to buffer identifier
B0 associated with operations table entry 121-A. In this manner,
once the media operation to fulfill operation identifier A has been
performed, the operations table entry 121-A can be used to identify
any subsequent read operations that can also be fulfilled (e.g.,
with the operation identifier B stored in the buffer1 buffer
identifier). Since this is a read operation colliding with a prior
read operation, the coherency checker 113 also updates the latest
flags in coherency table entries 123-A and 123-B to identify the
operation associated with operation identifier B as the latest
operation with address 5. The coherency checker 113 also updates
the counter in buffer status entry 125-A1 to indicate that the
buffer B0 has two pending operations against it: the reads
associated with operation identifiers "A" and "B." Note that the
buffer 127-A2 in FIG. 4A and associated status data are no longer
illustrated in FIG. 4B as that buffer is not referenced in
subsequent operations. The buffer 127-A2 may be released sometime
before or after processing of the second operation or never
allocated, depending on the implementation.
[0044] With reference to FIG. 3, the state of the data structures
in FIG. 4B reflects the block sequence 310, 312, 315, 320, 325,
330, 335, 340, 345, and 350.
[0045] FIG. 4C illustrates the state of the data structures after a
write of the value "50" to address 5 following the previous
read-read operation sequence described with reference to FIGS. 4A
and 4B. Upon receipt of the write operation, the processor 117
assigns operation identifier C to the write operation and adds
operations table entry 121-C to the operations table 121.
Operations table entry 121-C includes an identification of the
associated address (5), and buffer identifiers "B4" and "B5" that
identify buffers 127-C1 and 127-C2 in the buffers 127. Buffer
identifiers B4 and B5 also identify buffer status entries 125-C1
and 125-C2 in the buffer status data 125 that indicate the data
stored in buffers 127-C1 and 127-C2 is valid since the data is
associated with a write operation to be committed to media. For
write operations, the buffer1 of an entry in the operations table
121 stores the unencoded write data while the buffer0 stores the
encoded write data (e.g., after encoding), in the illustrated
embodiment. For example, buffer0 may initially store unencoded data
before the processor 117 or an encoder (not shown) encodes the data
in buffer and writes the encoded data back to buffer0. Thus, prior
to encoding, buffers 127-C1 and 127-C2 store the value "50."
[0046] The processor 117 initiates a collision check with the
coherency checker 113 based on the operation identifier C and may
send the address and type of operation, as described above with
reference to FIG. 4A. The coherency checker 113 checks whether the
coherency table 123 includes an entry with the same address as the
current operation and having the latest flag set. The coherency
checker 113 identifies a collision with the coherency table entry
123-B. As a write operation colliding with a prior read operation,
the coherency checker 113 updates the latest flags in coherency
table entries 123-B and 123-C to identify the operation associated
with operation identifier C as the latest operation with address 5.
The coherency checker 113 also updates the counter in buffer status
entry 125-C1 to indicate that the buffer B4 (which stores the
encoded write data) has one pending operations against it: the
write associated with operation identifier C. Note that the buffers
127-B1 and 127-B2 and associated status data in FIG. 4B are no
longer illustrated in FIG. 4C as those buffers are not referenced
in subsequent operations. The buffers 127-B1 and 127-B2 may be
released sometime before or after processing of the third operation
or never allocated, depending on the implementation.
[0047] With reference to FIG. 3, the state of the data structures
in FIG. 4C reflects the block sequence 310, 312, 315, 320, 340,
345, 350. Note that since the prior read operations must still be
fulfilled from the media, the buffer identifiers associated with
the operations in the prior read-read sequence remain
unchanged.
[0048] FIG. 4D illustrates the state of the data structures after a
read of the data at address 5 following the previous
read-read-write operation sequence described with reference to
FIGS. 4A-4C. Upon receipt of the read operation, the processor 117
assigns operation identifier D to the read operation and adds
operations table entry 121-D to the operations table 121.
Operations table entry 121-D includes an identification of the
associated address (5), and buffer identifiers "B6" and "B7" that
identify buffers 127-D1 and 127-D2 in the buffers 127. Buffer
identifiers B6 and B7 also identify buffer status entries 125-D1
and 125-D2 in the buffer status data 125 that indicate the data
stored in buffers 127-D1 and 127-D2 is invalid.
[0049] The processor 117 initiates a collision check with the
coherency checker 113 based on the operation identifier D and may
send the address and type of operation, as described above with
reference to FIG. 4A. Since the read operation associated with FIG.
4D is another operation in the collision sequence, the coherency
checker 113 checks whether the coherency table 123 includes an
entry with the same address and having the latest flag set and
identifies a collision with the coherency table entry 123-C. The
coherency checker 113 updates the buffer0 buffer identifier
associated with operations table entry 121-D to identify the buffer
B5 identified by the buffer1 buffer identifier associated with
operations table entry 121-C (the unencoded data for the write
operation). In this manner, the read operation can be satisfied
from the latest write operation that has yet to be committed to
media. The coherency checker 113 updates the counter in buffer
status entry 125-C2 to indicate that the buffer B5 (which stores
the unencoded write data) has a pending operation against it: the
read associated with operation identifier D. Of note, the coherency
checker 113 does not set the latest flag associated with the
coherency table entry 123-D so that future operations will continue
to collide with the write operation associated with operation
identifier C, such as future read operations that collide with and
are fulfilled from the data buffer B5.
[0050] With reference to FIG. 3, the state of the data structures
in FIG. 4D reflects the block sequence 310, 312, 315, 320, 325,
330, 350.
[0051] FIG. 4E illustrates the state of the data structures after a
write of the value "99" to address 5 following the previous
read-read-write-read operation sequence described with reference to
FIGS. 4A-4D. Upon receipt of the write operation, the processor 117
assigns operation identifier E to the write operation and adds
operations table entry 121-E to the operations table 121.
Operations table entry 121-E includes an identification of the
associated address (5), and buffer identifiers "B8" and "B9" that
identify buffers 127-E1 and 127-E2 in the buffers 127. Buffer
identifiers B8 and B9 also identify buffer status entries 125-E1
and 125-E2 in the buffer status data 125 that indicate the data
stored in buffers 127-E1 and 127-E2 is valid. Again, buffer1 stores
unencoded write data while buffer0 stores write data before and
after encoding. Prior to encoding, buffers 127-E1 and 127-E2 store
the value "99."
[0052] The processor 117 initiates a collision check with the
coherency checker 113 based on the operation identifier C and may
send the address and type of operation, as described above with
reference to FIG. 4A. Since the write operation associated with
FIG. 4C is another operation in the collision sequence, the
coherency checker 113 checks whether the coherency table 123
includes an entry with the same address and having the latest flag
set and identifies a collision with the coherency table entry
123-C. As a write operation colliding with a prior write operation,
the coherency checker 113 updates the latest flags in coherency
table entries 123-C and 123-E to identify the operation associated
with operation identifier E as the latest operation with address 5.
The coherency checker 113 also updates the counter in buffer status
entry 125-E1 to indicate that the buffer B8 has one pending
operations against it: the write associated with operation
identifier E. Further, the coherency checker 113 clears the valid
flag associated with the buffer status entry 125-C1 to indicate the
prior pending write operation need not be carried out to the media.
Note that the read operation between the write operations remains
queued against buffer B5. Note that the buffers 127-D1 and 127-D2
and associated status data in FIG. 4D are no longer illustrated in
FIG. 4E. The buffers 127-D1 and 127-D2 may be released sometime
before or after processing of the fifth operation or never
allocated, depending on the implementation.
[0053] With reference to FIG. 3, the state of the data structures
in FIG. 4E reflects the block sequence 310, 312, 315, 320, 340,
345, 350.
[0054] Note that the illustrations of buffers 127 and associated
buffer status data 125 in FIGS. 4A-4E show buffers that are
allocated with a new operation and released prior to a subsequent
operation in the case where the allocated buffers are no longer
needed. The specific timing of the allocation and release of
buffers is implementation specific. For example, a background
process executed by the processor 117 can periodically release
allocated buffers with zero-valued counters and clear valid data
flags in the buffer status data. Thus, the disappearance of buffer
127-A2 and buffer status entry 125-A2 in FIG. 4B, buffers 127-B1
and -B2 and buffer status entries 125-B1 and -B2 in FIG. 4C, and
buffers 127-D1 and -D2 and buffer status entries 125-D1 and -D2 in
FIG. DE is not intended to be illustrative of a particular buffer
release protocol and may vary from embodiment to embodiment.
[0055] Note that in some embodiments, a single buffer can be
allocated per command. To facilitate identifying several colliding
reads in a sequence, entries in the operations table 121 associated
with read operations can include a pointer to identify subsequent
read collisions (e.g., the first read operation has a buffer and a
pointer to the second operation, the second operation using the
same buffer). For write operations that involve the encoding of
write data, entries in the buffer status data 125 can indicate
whether the data within the buffer is encoded. If so, read
operations that are directed to the buffer associated with the
prior write operation can be fulfilled from the encoded data by
decoding the data prior to returning it to the host system. Further
note that in some embodiments, the processing device can allocate
buffers on-demand rather than whenever a new command is received
from the host system. For example, the processing device can
allocate a single buffer for a read operation and, upon receiving a
colliding read operation, allocate additional memory to the
original read operation to include a pointer to the subsequent,
colliding read operation.
[0056] FIG. 5 illustrates an example machine of a computer system
500 within which a set of instructions, for causing the machine to
perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, can
be executed. In some embodiments, the computer system 500 can
correspond to a host system (e.g., the host system 130 of FIG. 1)
that includes, is coupled to, or utilizes a memory subsystem (e.g.,
the memory subsystem 110 of FIG. 1) or can be used to perform the
operations of a controller (e.g., to execute an operating system to
perform operations corresponding to the coherency checker 113 of
FIG. 1). In alternative embodiments, the machine can be connected
(e.g., networked) to other machines in a LAN, an intranet, an
extranet, and/or the Internet. The machine can operate in the
capacity of a server or a client machine in client-server network
environment, as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed)
network environment, or as a server or a client machine in a cloud
computing infrastructure or environment.
[0057] The machine can be a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a
set-top box (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular
telephone, a web appliance, a server, a network router, a switch or
bridge, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions
(sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that
machine. Further, while a single machine is illustrated, the term
"machine" shall also be taken to include any collection of machines
that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of
instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies
discussed herein.
[0058] The example computer system 500 includes a processing device
502, a main memory 504 (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), flash memory,
dynamic random access memory (DRAM) such as synchronous DRAM
(SDRAM) or Rambus DRAM (RDRAM), etc.), a static memory 506 (e.g.,
flash memory, static random access memory (SRAM), etc.), and a data
storage system 518, which communicate with each other via a bus
530.
[0059] Processing device 502 represents one or more general-purpose
processing devices such as a microprocessor, a central processing
unit, or the like. More particularly, the processing device can be
a complex instruction set computing (CISC) microprocessor, reduced
instruction set computing (RISC) microprocessor, very long
instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor, or a processor implementing
other instruction sets, or processors implementing a combination of
instruction sets. Processing device 502 can also be one or more
special-purpose processing devices such as an application specific
integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA),
a digital signal processor (DSP), network processor, or the like.
The processing device 502 is configured to execute instructions 526
for performing the operations and steps discussed herein. The
computer system 500 can further include a network interface device
508 to communicate over the network 520.
[0060] The data storage system 518 can include a machine-readable
storage medium 524 (also known as a computer-readable medium) on
which is stored one or more sets of instructions 526 or software
embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions
described herein. The instructions 526 can also reside, completely
or at least partially, within the main memory 504 and/or within the
processing device 502 during execution thereof by the computer
system 500, the main memory 504 and the processing device 502 also
constituting machine-readable storage media. The machine-readable
storage medium 524, data storage system 518, and/or main memory 504
can correspond to the memory subsystem 110 of FIG. 1.
[0061] In one embodiment, the instructions 526 include instructions
to implement functionality corresponding to a coherency checker
component (e.g., the coherency checker 113 of FIG. 1). While the
machine-readable storage medium 524 is shown in an example
embodiment to be a single medium, the term "machine-readable
storage medium" should be taken to include a single medium or
multiple media that store the one or more sets of instructions. The
term "machine-readable storage medium" shall also be taken to
include any medium that is capable of storing or encoding a set of
instructions for execution by the machine and that cause the
machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies of the
present disclosure. The term "machine-readable storage medium"
shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to,
solid-state memories, optical media, and magnetic media.
[0062] Some portions of the preceding detailed descriptions have
been presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations
of operations on data bits within a computer memory. These
algorithmic descriptions and representations are the ways used by
those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively
convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An
algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent
sequence of operations leading to a desired result. The operations
are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities.
Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of
electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, combined,
compared, and otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at
times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these
signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms,
numbers, or the like.
[0063] It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and
similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical
quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these
quantities. The present disclosure can refer to the action and
processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing
device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as
physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system's
registers and memories into other data similarly represented as
physical quantities within the computer system memories or
registers or other such information storage systems.
[0064] The present disclosure also relates to an apparatus for
performing the operations herein. This apparatus can be specially
constructed for the intended purposes, or it can include a
general-purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by a
computer program stored in the computer. For example, a computer
system or other data processing system, such as the controller 115,
may carry out the computer-implemented method 300 in response to
its processor executing a computer program (e.g., a sequence of
instructions) contained in a memory or other non-transitory
machine-readable storage medium. Such a computer program can be
stored in a computer readable storage medium, such as, but not
limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks,
CD-ROMs, and magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs),
random access memories (RAMs), EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical
cards, or any type of media suitable for storing electronic
instructions, each coupled to a computer system bus.
[0065] The algorithms and displays presented herein are not
inherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus.
Various general-purpose systems can be used with programs in
accordance with the teachings herein, or it can prove convenient to
construct a more specialized apparatus to perform the method. The
structure for a variety of these systems will appear as set forth
in the description below. In addition, the present disclosure is
not described with reference to any particular programming
language. It will be appreciated that a variety of programming
languages can be used to implement the teachings of the disclosure
as described herein.
[0066] The present disclosure can be provided as a computer program
product, or software, that can include a machine-readable medium
having stored thereon instructions, which can be used to program a
computer system (or other electronic devices) to perform a process
according to the present disclosure. A machine-readable medium
includes any mechanism for storing information in a form readable
by a machine (e.g., a computer). In some embodiments, a
machine-readable (e.g., computer-readable) medium includes a
machine (e.g., a computer) readable storage medium such as a read
only memory ("ROM"), random access memory ("RAM"), magnetic disk
storage media, optical storage media, flash memory components,
etc.
[0067] In the foregoing specification, embodiments of the
disclosure have been described with reference to specific example
embodiments thereof. It will be evident that various modifications
can be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and
scope of embodiments of the disclosure as set forth in the
following claims. The specification and drawings are, accordingly,
to be regarded in an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive
sense.
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