Cache Sector Access Control Without Look-Up Tables
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing memory sub-systems face performance issues due to mismatches in data access granularity between host systems and memory devices, leading to inefficiencies in cache management that consume time, power, and resources when handling conflicts through additional look-up tables.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a memory sub-system controller that manages access granularity by using control signals to enable or disable write protection and enable modes for cache sectors, eliminating the need for additional look-up tables and optimizing cache operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If additional look-up tables are used to manage access granularity conflicts, then access control is improved, but device complexity and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the access control logic from separate look-up tables and integrates it directly into the cache line structure through enable/disable bits. Each cache line includes built-in control bits that determine whether data can be written to specific sectors, eliminating the need for external look-up tables and reducing device complexity while maintaining reliable access control.
Solution Approach 2:
The cache line structure is enhanced to serve multiple functions: it not only stores data but also includes embedded enable/disable bits that provide access control. This multi-functional design allows the same structural element (cache line) to perform both data storage and access management, reducing the need for separate dedicated components.
2Reliability
If additional look-up tables are used to manage access granularity conflicts, then access control is improved, but time consumption and power usage increase
Solution Approach 1:
By removing the look-up table component and embedding access control logic directly in the cache line structure, the patent eliminates the time required to query external tables. The enable/disable bits are immediately available within the cache line itself, providing O(1) access control decisions without the overhead of table look-ups.
3Stability of the object's composition
If read-modify-write processes are used, then data consistency is maintained, but productivity decreases due to additional operations
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of performing read-modify-write sequences to maintain consistency, the patent inverts the approach by using write-only operations where the enable/disable bits pre-determine the validity of incoming data. When a sector is enabled, data can be written directly without prior reads, converting potentially multi-step operations into single-step write-only operations that improve productivity while maintaining consistency through the control bits.
Data Source
AI summary
A processing device, operatively coupled with a memory device, retrieves data from the memory device for merging at one or more sectors of a cache line in a cache, wherein the cache line comprises a plurality of sectors. The processing device determines, based on one or more bits associated with each sector of the cache line, whether each sector of the cache line is configured with at least one of a write protection mode and enable mode, respectively. The processing device writes the data from the memory device to each sector of the cache line using the at least one of the write protection mode or the enable mode.