Host platform and test system and method for communication logic of storage device

Abstract

The invention belongs to the technical field of static storage, and particularly relates to a host platform and a test system and method for communication logic of storage equipment, and the host platform comprises a configuration analysis module which is used for obtaining a preset configuration file and analyzing the content in the configuration file; the command creation module is used for creating a corresponding test command according to the content analyzed by the configuration analysis module; the command creating module is also used for sending the test command to the storage equipment end and receiving a response fed back by the storage equipment end; the command reply analysis module is used for acquiring and analyzing the response of the storage equipment end from the command creation module so as to identify whether the response conforms to the protocol specification of the storage equipment or not, and judging whether the storage equipment end correctly understands and executes the corresponding test command or not; wherein the host platform is a model built in a simulation environment, and the storage device end is a model mapped to the simulation environment by the storage device entity.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of static storage, and particularly relates to a test system and method for the communication logic between a host platform and a storage device. Background Art

[0002] The traditional development process of an eMMC (Embedded Multi-Media Card) main controller is to first establish a Host (host) verification environment using a hardware description language such as Verilog (HDL) or VHDL (VHSIC Hardware Description Language). After the Host verifies that the communication logic of the eMMC is okay, the eMMC firmware can then be involved in the development.

[0003] However, using Verilog to simulate the Host verification environment requires implementing functions such as the eMMC protocol stack and timing. If eMMC timing convergence is to be achieved, it will be quite time-consuming (starting from 6 months). Therefore, it will greatly delay the development schedule of the eMMC firmware, resulting in a significant lengthening of the eMMC main controller development cycle. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a Host platform for testing eMMC communication logic built based on SystemC. By simulating the communication interaction between the eMMC and the Host, the communication logic ability of the eMMC is tested, and the development cycle of the eMMC firmware is shortened.

[0005] To achieve the above object and other related objects, the present invention provides a host platform for testing the communication logic of a storage device, including: a configuration parsing module for obtaining a preset configuration file and parsing its content; a command creation module for creating corresponding test commands according to the content parsed by the configuration parsing module; and the command creation module is further configured to send the test commands to the storage device side and receive the responses feedback from the storage device side; a command response parsing module for obtaining and parsing the responses from the storage device side in the command creation module to identify whether the responses conform to the storage device protocol specification and determine whether the storage device side correctly understands and executes the corresponding test commands; wherein, the host platform is a model built in a simulation environment, and the storage device side is a model in which a storage device entity is mapped to the simulation environment.

[0006] According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, it further includes: a command error handling module for recording the command numbers and command parameters of the test commands corresponding to the responses that do not conform to the storage device protocol specification or that are not correctly executed by the storage device side, so as to generate a corresponding log file based on all the command numbers and command parameters as the test result.

[0007] According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, the command creation module includes: a command establishment unit, configured to create a corresponding test command according to a line of content about a command number and command parameters; a content generation unit, configured to generate specific command content according to a line of content about a data pattern and a data length, and merge it into the test command to obtain a complete test command; wherein, the command establishment unit is further configured to communicate and interact with the storage device end.

[0008] According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, the command establishment unit is further configured to send the complete test command to the storage device end in the payload format.

[0009] According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, when no corresponding response is obtained from the command creation module within a preset time, the command reply parsing module is further configured to notify the command creation module to send a detection command to confirm the status of the storage device end.

[0010] According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, when the response does not conform to the storage device protocol specification, the command reply parsing module is further configured to notify the command creation module to stop creating new test commands.

[0011] According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, when the response conforms to the storage device protocol specification, the command reply parsing module is further configured to notify the command creation module to create new test commands for multiple tests.

[0012] A test system for the communication logic of a storage device includes the above-mentioned host platform, storage device end, and host configuration layer, which are configured to at least be able to define the data style, data pattern, and data length sent from the host platform to the storage device end, and generate corresponding configuration files based on them.

[0013] A test method for the communication logic of a storage device, applied to a host platform, the method includes: obtaining a preset configuration file and parsing the content therein; creating a corresponding test command according to the parsed content, and sending the test command to the storage device end; identifying whether the response from the storage device end conforms to the storage device protocol specification according to the corresponding response, and determining whether the storage device end correctly understands and executes the corresponding test command: when the response does not conform to the storage device protocol specification, record the command number and command parameters of the test command corresponding to the response; when the response conforms to the storage device protocol specification, create a new test command and send it to the storage device end for a new test.

[0014] According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, it further includes: when no response from the storage device end is received within a preset time, sending a detection command to the storage device end to confirm the status of the storage device end The present invention provides a Host platform built in a SystemC environment. At the same time, the communication logic of eMMC is mapped into the SystemC environment to build a corresponding model. By simulating the communication interaction between the Host and eMMC, the communication logic ability of eMMC is verified, so as to shorten the implementation time of the Host platform and accelerate the development cycle of the eMMC main controller.

[0015] Specifically, in practical applications, the present invention can verify the response status of the emmc5.1 protocol stack. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 FIG. is a schematic structural diagram of a specific embodiment of a host platform for testing the communication logic of a storage device provided by the present invention; Figure 2 FIG. is a schematic structural diagram of a specific embodiment of a test system for the communication logic of a storage device provided by the present invention; Figure 3 FIG. is a schematic flow diagram of a specific embodiment of a test method for the communication logic of a storage device provided by the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0017] To facilitate the understanding of the present application, the present application will be described more comprehensively below with reference to the relevant drawings. Embodiments of the present application are given in the drawings. However, the present application can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. On the contrary, these embodiments are provided so that the disclosure of the present application is more thorough and comprehensive.

[0018] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the technical field to which this application belongs. The terms used in the description of the present application herein are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present application.

[0019] The following illustrates the embodiments of the present invention through specific specific examples. Those skilled in the art can easily understand the other advantages and effects of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification. The present invention can also be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and various details in this specification can also be modified or changed based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It should be noted that, without conflict, the following embodiments and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other.

[0020] In the following description, numerous details are explored to provide a more thorough explanation of the embodiments of the present invention. However, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that the embodiments of the present invention can be implemented without these specific details. In other embodiments, well-known structures and devices are shown in the form of block diagrams rather than in detail to avoid making the embodiments of the present invention difficult to understand.

[0021] First of all, it should be noted that traditional eMMC communication logic testing requires preparing a hardware platform and software tools, that is, a development board or test platform supporting the eMMC interface needs to be prepared to ensure that the eMMC chip is correctly connected to the development board. At the same time, instruments such as a logic analyzer and an oscilloscope are also required to monitor signals. In addition, a test platform needs to be written using a hardware description language (such as Verilog or VHDL), and a simulation tool (such as ModelSim, Vivado Simulator, etc.) is used to run the simulation.

[0022] Based on the above, the specific verification process is as follows: First, verify the power supply logic to ensure that the eMMC works properly within the specified power supply voltage range, and the power-on of the power supply can be simulated in the Verilog test platform for verification. Then, verify the reset logic to verify whether the reset signal can make the eMMC enter the initial state. The reset signal can be sent in the correct timing sequence in the test platform, and the output state of the eMMC is checked to see if it meets the expectations.

[0023] Furthermore, it is also necessary to verify the clock signal logic. The clock signal is the basis of eMMC communication. Accordingly, the frequency, duty cycle, and stability of the clock signal need to be verified. The frequency of the clock signal can be measured using a logic analyzer to ensure that it meets the frequency range specified by the eMMC protocol. Check whether the duty cycle of the clock signal is close to 50% to avoid the deviation of the duty cycle affecting data transmission. Observe whether the clock signal is stable over a period of time, without jitter or mutation, etc. for verification.

[0024] Finally, after the above verifications pass, the verification of the eMMC communication logic will begin, that is, verify by sending commands to the eMMC and receiving responses. Specifically, in the test platform, various commands are sent in the format specified by the eMMC protocol, such as initialization commands, read / write commands, etc., and a logic analyzer is used to monitor the transmission of the command signals to ensure that the command format is correct. At the same time, check whether the response of the eMMC to the command conforms to the protocol regulations. For example, for a read command, verify whether the returned data is correct; for an initialization command, verify whether the returned status information is correct. And, during this process, it is also necessary to verify whether the read and write operations of the eMMC data are correct.

[0025] It can be seen that due to the complex verification of the traditional eMMC communication logic, this places high requirements on the Host platform, which needs to implement functions such as the eMMC protocol stack and timing, resulting in a long time-consuming process for the Host platform to be implemented, greatly extending the development cycle of eMMC.

[0026] Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to simplify the traditional verification process, accelerate the communication logic test of eMMC, and shorten the time-consuming for the Host platform to be implemented, a Host platform is built based on the SystemC environment. At the same time, eMMC is also mapped to the SystemC environment. By simulating the communication interaction between eMMC and the Host in the simulation environment, the communication logic test of eMMC is completed.

[0027] It should be noted that Verilog and VHDL mainly focus on hardware description. When performing system-level design, the abstraction level is relatively low, and the hardware structure needs to be described in detail. While SystemC uses C++ as the basis, it can achieve high-level abstract modeling, quickly build a system architecture, and facilitate the evaluation and verification of the architecture design. At the same time, in traditional Verilog and VHDL, the software and hardware designs are usually carried out separately, and problems are likely to occur during integration. SystemC is based on C++, allowing software and hardware designs and simulations to be carried out in the same environment. For example, when designing a system containing an embedded processor, the software code of the processor can be written in C++, and the hardware module can be described using SystemC to achieve co-simulation of the two, and problems in software and hardware interaction can be discovered earlier. Therefore, when using SystemC for system-level simulation, there is no need to perform complex hardware behavior simulation like Verilog and VHDL to accelerate the simulation time for quick verification.

[0028] It can be understood that building a Host platform in the SystemC environment, simulating eMMC, and then simulating the communication interaction between eMMC and the Host in the SystemC environment to verify the communication logic ability of eMMC greatly simplifies the process of eMMC communication logic verification and also speeds up the time required to build the Host platform for testing the communication logic ability of eMMC.

[0029] It should also be added that in this embodiment, SystemC is specifically used as an example, but it is not used to limit the use of similar tools with the same functions as SystemC to build a Host platform and simulate eMMC to simulate the communication interaction between eMMC and the Host in the simulation environment, which all fall within the protection scope of this application. Those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the present invention, the modifications and refinements made to the embodiments of the present invention still fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0030] Embodiment 1 Please refer to Figure 1 a Host platform for testing the communication logic of a storage device, including: a configuration parsing module 10, a command creation module 20, a command reply module 30, and a command error handling module 40 as shown

[0031] Here, it should be noted first that the host platform mentioned in this embodiment is a simulation model built in the SystemC environment, and the storage device side is also a simulation model in which the eMMC entity is mapped to the SystemC environment. That is, a corresponding simulation model is constructed in the SystemC environment according to the original communication logic of the eMMC entity, so as to simulate the communication interaction between the host platform and the storage device side in the SystemC environment

[0032] Among them, the configuration parsing module 10 can be used to automatically capture a preset configuration file and parse the content therein. At the same time, the parsed content is also saved to the internal buffer of the platform. It can be understood that the configuration file mentioned here can be predefined by the user. For example, before testing the communication logic of the storage device side, the cmd (command) number, cmd (command) parameter, data pattern, and data length sent by the host platform can be defined first, etc., and then packaged to generate a corresponding configuration file. Correspondingly, the configuration parsing module 10 can capture the configuration file from the specified area to complete the configuration of the host platform before testing

[0033] The command creation module 20 includes a command establishment unit and a content generation unit. The command establishment unit can create a TLM (Transaction-Level Modeling) communication transaction, that is, a corresponding test command, according to the data patterns (cmd number, cmd parameter) in the buffer, that is, the content parsed from the above configuration file. The content generation unit can generate corresponding data content according to the data pattern and data length, and merge the data content into the TLM communication transaction to complete the TLM communication transaction, that is, obtain a complete test command

[0034] It is understandable that the cmd numbers, cmd parameters, data patterns, and data lengths predefined by the user include multiple lines of content. Correspondingly, the command establishment unit can create a corresponding test command based on one line of content of the cmd number and cmd parameter. Similarly, the content generation unit can generate specific command content based on one line of content of the data pattern and data length, so as to merge it into the test command to obtain a complete test command. Thus, based on the configuration file predefined by the user, multiple test commands can be generated to fully test the communication logic capabilities of the storage device side.

[0035] At the same time, as the sending port of the host platform, the command establishment unit can communicate and interact with the storage device side to send the generated test command (cmd) to the storage device side and receive the response (response) feedback from the storage device side. Specifically, the command establishment unit can send the test command to the storage device side in the payload format.

[0036] It should be noted that TLM is a method for describing system behavior and communication at a higher abstraction level. It abstracts the traditional signal - and - pin - based communication into transaction - based communication. In SystemC, a transaction can be regarded as an information unit with specific semantics, containing relevant information such as data, address, and control signals, used to transfer messages and complete specific operations between modules.

[0037] Therefore, by simulating the host platform and the storage device side in the SystemC environment and using TLM communication transactions to achieve communication and interaction, compared with the traditional signal - level modeling method, it can describe system behavior at a higher abstraction level, reduce the detailed description of underlying signals and timing, and can focus more on the function and architecture design of the host platform, thus improving the design efficiency and shortening the design cycle.

[0038] At the same time, since the TLM communication transaction abstracts the communication process into the transfer of transactions, the verification and debugging process becomes more intuitive and easy to understand. Users can quickly locate and solve problems in the design by observing the content and flow of transactions, improving the verification efficiency.

[0039] Thus, it can be seen that simulating the communication and interaction between the host platform and the storage device side in the SystemC environment can greatly shorten the cycle for verifying the eMMC communication logic capabilities, so as to accelerate the eMMC main controller development cycle.

[0040] The command response parsing module 30 is used to simulate the eMMC protocol stack. Accordingly, it can obtain the response of the storage device end to a test command from the command establishment unit, or the command establishment unit forwards the received response of the storage device end to the command response parsing module 30. At the same time, the command response parsing module 30 parses the content of the response to identify whether the response conforms to the eMMC protocol specification and determines whether the storage device end correctly understands and executes the corresponding test command.

[0041] In this regard, if the response from the storage device end is not received within the preset time, the command response parsing module 30 notifies the command establishment unit to send a detection command to obtain the current state of the storage device end and confirm whether the storage device end can operate normally. It can be understood that if the storage device end still does not respond, the detection command is repeatedly sent until it is confirmed that the storage device end returns to normal, and then the test command is resent to verify the communication logic ability of the storage device end.

[0042] Furthermore, if the response from the storage device end is received, the command response parsing module 30 parses the content therein. When the response does not conform to the eMMC protocol specification, it indicates that there is an abnormality in the communication logic of the storage device end, and the continuous test can be stopped, that is, the command response parsing module 30 notifies the command creation module 20 to stop creating new test commands. When the response conforms to the eMMC protocol specification, it indicates that the communication logic of the storage device end based on the test command is normal, and the next test can be continued. Accordingly, the command response parsing module 30 notifies the command creation module 20 to create a new test command, then sends it to the storage device end, and receives a new response to perform multiple tests on the storage device end.

[0043] It should be noted that when the response does not conform to the eMMC protocol specification, or it is found that the storage device end does not correctly understand and execute the test command, the next test can also be continued until all the test commands are sent. However, generally, when the response of any test command is abnormal, it already indicates that there is a problem with the communication logic of the storage device end, and it is not necessary to continue the test. The new test commands sent can be directly stopped. There are no excessive restrictions on this. Those skilled in the art can still fall within the protection scope of the present invention when making modifications and refinements to the embodiments of the present invention without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0044] The command error handling module 40 can be used to record the command numbers and command parameters of the test commands corresponding to the responses that do not conform to the eMMC protocol specification or are not correctly executed by the storage device end, so as to generate a corresponding log file based on all the command numbers and command parameters as the test result for the user to view.

[0045] It can be seen that in this embodiment, a Host platform is mainly provided, which can verify the communication logic ability of the eMMC to solve the problem of long time consumption for the Host verification environment to be implemented. Embodiment 2 Please refer to Figure 2 As shown in the figure, this embodiment provides a test system for the communication logic of a storage device, including the host platform built in the SystemC environment mentioned in Embodiment 1, the storage device end mapped to the SystemC environment, and a host configuration layer, which can be implemented by using Linux, for example.

[0046] Specifically, the host configuration layer can define data styles, data patterns, data lengths, and other parameter configurations sent by the host platform to the storage device end, and generate corresponding configuration files according to them, and place them in the specified area for the host platform to capture.

[0047] Embodiment 3 Please refer to Figure 3 As shown in the figure, this embodiment provides a test method for the communication logic of a storage device, which is applied to the host platform described in Embodiment 1, and includes: Step S100, obtain a preset configuration file and parse the content therein.

[0048] Step S200, create corresponding test commands according to the parsed content, and send the test commands to the storage device end.

[0049] Step S300, identify whether the response corresponding to the storage device end conforms to the storage device protocol specification, and determine whether the storage device end correctly understands and executes the corresponding test commands: Step S310, when the response does not conform to the storage device protocol specification, record the command number and command parameters of the test command corresponding to the response; Step S320, when the response conforms to the storage device protocol specification, create a new test command and send it to the storage device end to perform a new test item.

[0050] Among them, when the response from the storage device end is not received within the preset time, a detection command is sent to the storage device end to confirm the state of the storage device end.

[0051] It should be noted that the step division of the above various methods is only for clear description. When implemented, they can be combined into one step or some steps can be split into multiple steps. As long as the same logical relationship is included, it is within the protection scope of this application; adding insignificant modifications to the algorithm or process or introducing insignificant designs, but not changing the core design of its algorithm and process, are all within the protection scope of this application.

[0052] In summary, the present invention provides a Host platform built based on the SystemC environment. At the same time, the communication logic of eMMC is mapped into the SystemC environment to construct a corresponding model. By simulating the communication interaction between the Host and eMMC, the communication logic ability of eMMC is verified, so as to shorten the implementation time of the Host platform and accelerate the development cycle of the eMMC main controller.

[0053] The above embodiments merely illustrate the principles and effects of the present invention, rather than limiting the present invention. Any person familiar with this technology can modify or change the above embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent modifications or changes completed by those with ordinary knowledge in the technical field without departing from the spirit and technical ideas disclosed by the present invention should still be covered by the claims of the present invention.

[0054] In the description of this specification, the description referring to terms such as "some embodiments", "other embodiments", etc. means that the specific features, structures, materials or features described in connection with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present application. In this specification, the schematic description of the above terms does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example.

[0055] The technical features of the above-described embodiments can be combined arbitrarily. For the sake of concise description, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, it should be considered to be within the scope described in this specification.

[0056] The above description of the embodiments of the present invention (including the content described in the abstract of the specification) is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present invention to the precise form disclosed herein. Although specific embodiments of the present invention and examples of the present invention are described herein for illustrative purposes only, as will be recognized and understood by those skilled in the art, various equivalent modifications are possible within the spirit and scope of the present invention. As pointed out, these modifications to the present invention can be made in accordance with the above description of the embodiments of the present invention, and these modifications will be within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0057] The systems and methods have been generally described herein to assist in understanding the details of the present invention. In addition, various specific details have been given to provide an overall understanding of the embodiments of the present invention. However, those skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the embodiments of the present invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or can be practiced using other devices, systems, accessories, methods, components, materials, parts, etc. In other cases, well-known structures, materials, and / or operations have not been shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring various aspects of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0058] Accordingly, while the present invention has been described herein with reference to its specific embodiments, modifications, various changes and substitutions are also within the above disclosure, and it should be understood that in some cases, some features of the present invention will be employed without corresponding use of other features without departing from the scope and spirit of the claimed invention. Accordingly, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the essential scope and spirit of the present invention. The present invention is not intended to be limited to the specific terms used in the following claims and / or to the specific embodiments disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out the present invention, but the present invention will include any and all embodiments and equivalents falling within the scope of the appended claims. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention will be determined only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A host platform for testing storage device communication logic, characterized in that: include: Configuration parsing module, used to obtain the preset configuration file and parse the content therein; A command creation module, used to create corresponding test commands according to the content parsed by the configuration parsing module; The command creation module is also used to send the test command to the storage device end and receive a response fed back by the storage device end; A command reply parsing module, used to obtain and parse the response of the storage device end from the command creation module to identify whether the response complies with the storage device protocol specification and determine whether the storage device end correctly understands and executes the corresponding test command; The host platform is a model built in a simulation environment, and the storage device end is a model in which a storage device entity is mapped to the simulation environment.

2. The host platform for testing storage device communication logic according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: The command error handling module is used to record the command number and command parameters of the test command corresponding to the response that does not comply with the storage device protocol specification or is not correctly executed by the storage device end, so as to generate a corresponding log file based on all command numbers and command parameters as the test result.

3. The host platform for testing storage device communication logic according to claim 1, characterized in that: The command creation module includes: A command creation unit, used for creating a corresponding test command according to a line of content about a command number and command parameters; A content generation unit, configured to generate specific command content according to a line of content related to a data mode and a data length, and merge the content into the test command to obtain a complete test command; The command establishing unit is also used to communicate and interact with the storage device end.

4. The host platform for testing storage device communication logic according to claim 3, characterized in that: The command establishing unit is also used to send the complete test command in a payload format to the storage device end.

5. The host platform for testing storage device communication logic according to claim 1, characterized in that: If no corresponding response is obtained from the command creation module within a preset time, the command reply parsing module is also used to notify the command creation module to send a detection command to confirm the status of the storage device end.

6. The host platform for testing storage device communication logic according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the response does not comply with the storage device protocol specification, the command reply parsing module is further used to notify the command creating module to stop creating a new test command.

7. The host platform for testing storage device communication logic according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the response complies with the storage device protocol specification, the command reply parsing module is further used to notify the command creation module to create a new test command to perform multiple tests.

8. A test system for storage device communication logic, characterized in that: A host platform for testing storage device communication logic according to any one of claims 1 to 7, a storage device end, and The host configuration layer is configured to at least define the data style, data mode, and data length sent by the host platform to the storage device, and generate a corresponding configuration file based on the data style, data mode, and data length.

9. A method for testing the communication logic of a storage device, characterized in that: Applied to a host platform, the method comprises: Get the preset configuration file and parse its contents; Create a corresponding test command according to the parsed content, and send the test command to the storage device end; According to the corresponding response of the storage device, identify whether it complies with the storage device protocol specification, and determine whether the storage device correctly understands and executes the corresponding test command: When the response does not comply with the storage device protocol specification, recording the command number and command parameters of the test command corresponding to the response; When the response complies with the storage device protocol specification, a new test command is created and sent to the storage device to perform a new test.

10. The method for testing the communication logic of a storage device according to claim 9, characterized in that: Also includes: When no response is received from the storage device within a preset time, a detection command is sent to the storage device to confirm the status of the storage device.

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