Hard Disk Controller Frame-Based Buffer Release
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional buffer-based data transmission methods for hard disk drives and other storage media face inefficiencies, including reduced throughput, increased costs, and power consumption due to the need to transfer entire buffer contents upon errors, and the inability to reuse buffer space efficiently.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a coordinated data transmission system that records the number of blocks in each frame and sends buffer release pulses to clear space in the buffer memory after successful transmission, allowing for micro-updates and efficient reuse of buffer space, and updates a known good pointer for error recovery without re-transmitting entire buffers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the entire buffer memory is filled and transferred at once, then tracking of transmitted data is improved, but throughput is reduced and buffer size requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the buffer transfer process into frame-based units rather than transferring the entire buffer at once. Each frame is independently tracked and transferred, allowing partial buffer releases and enabling concurrent operations. This segmentation maintains precise tracking of transmitted data while improving throughput by allowing multiple frame transfers to occur in parallel.
2Quantity of substance
If a larger buffer is used to accommodate larger data requests, then data request capacity is improved, but cost and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic buffer management where buffer space is released and reused based on actual transfer completion. Instead of allocating a large static buffer, the system dynamically releases buffer space frame-by-frame as transfers complete, allowing the same physical buffer to handle larger data requests through efficient reuse. This reduces the required buffer size while maintaining capacity for large requests.
3Reliability
If buffer space is not cleared until entire buffer transfer is complete, then data integrity is ensured, but buffer reuse efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the buffer into frame-sized units that can be independently released. When a frame is successfully transferred, the corresponding buffer space is cleared and made available for reuse, while other portions of the buffer may still be in transit. This segmentation maintains data integrity for each frame while dramatically improving buffer reuse efficiency by allowing partial buffer availability.
4Ease of repair
If transmission restarts from the beginning of the buffer after an error, then error recovery is simplified, but time efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the buffer into frame-based units with independent tracking. When an error occurs, only the affected frame needs to be retransmitted, not the entire buffer. The system uses frame boundaries and block counters to identify and retry only the specific failed frame, maintaining simple error recovery procedures while eliminating the time waste of retransmitting successful data.
Data Source
AI summary
The transmission of buffered data is coordinated between a storage medium and a host in response to a request from the host. One or more blocks of data are transferred from the storage medium to a buffer memory. One or more frames of data are transmitted from the buffer memory to the host, wherein the number of blocks ending in the frame is recorded in a blocks/frame register, and possibly also in a block count accumulator register. Buffer release pulses for releasing buffer space in memory are sent to the buffer memory, based on the number of blocks in the blocks/frame register, or the number of blocks accumulated in the block count accumulator register when a signal is received from the host. A pointer which points to the last block of data successfully transferred is updated in accordance with the buffer release pulses.