Adaptive Memory Scrub Rate for Error Correction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional memory scrub strategies employ fixed frequencies that do not adapt to varying error event rates, leading to excessive processor cycles during low error periods and inadequate correction during high error periods, especially in radiation-intensive environments.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a scrub rate adaptive logic that adjusts memory scrub frequency based on real-time error event detection, increasing frequency when error rates exceed thresholds and decreasing when they fall below, using error detection systems and error corrective code feedback to dynamically manage scrub rates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a fixed high memory scrub frequency is employed to account for error spikes, then reliability is improved during high error periods, but processor cycle efficiency deteriorates during low error periods
Solution Approach 1:
The memory scrub frequency is transformed from a static fixed value to a dynamic adjustable parameter. The system continuously monitors error event rates and automatically adjusts the scrub frequency accordingly, allowing it to be high during radiation spikes and low during normal conditions, thus resolving the contradiction between reliability and processor efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback mechanism where error detection logic continuously monitors memory error events and feeds this information to the scrub rate adaptive logic. This closed-loop control enables the system to respond to actual error conditions and adjust scrub frequency in real-time, ensuring reliable error correction only when necessary
2Productivity
If a fixed low memory scrub frequency is employed to save processor cycles, then processor cycle efficiency is improved during low error periods, but reliability deteriorates during high error periods
Solution Approach 1:
The scrub frequency transitions from a permanently low fixed value to a dynamic parameter that can scale up during high error periods. The adaptive logic detects increased error rates and automatically increases scrub frequency, ensuring reliability is maintained during radiation events while preserving processor efficiency during normal operation
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operational parameter (scrub frequency) based on detected error conditions. When error rates exceed thresholds, the frequency parameter is increased; when error rates are low, the frequency is decreased. This parameter adaptation resolves the contradiction by matching system behavior to actual environmental conditions
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment an example apparatus includes a memory with an error detection system (EDS) that detects an error event in the memory. The error event involves at least one bit in the memory changing state erroneously. The apparatus also includes a scrub logic to scrub the memory and correct memory errors (e.g., bit errors). The apparatus also includes a scrub rate adaptive logic to selectively control a memory scrub frequency associated with the scrub logic where the control is based, at least in part, on a number of error events detected by the EDS during an interval of time. A memory scrub frequency is the rate that a memory is periodically scrubbed to remove errors.