Host-Controlled Memory Allocation for NAND Garbage Collection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Garbage collection in NAND-based memory devices impacts performance by involving internal data movement, and existing technologies lack a means for the host to control when garbage collection operations are performed.
Innovation Solution
A method and device configuration that allow a host to actively control garbage collection-related operations by sending requests using a memory access protocol, enabling the memory device to make regions of memory allocatable, thereby improving performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If garbage collection is performed as a background process in NAND-based memory devices, then space is reclaimed from invalidated data for future writes, but internal data movement occurs which impacts device performance
Solution Approach 1:
The host device is enabled to initiate garbage collection operations proactively before they are absolutely necessary. By allowing the host to send commands to make memory regions allocatable, the system performs garbage collection in advance of when space is critically needed, reducing urgent data movement operations that would disrupt ongoing write operations and improve overall performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the host device can query the memory device about allocatable regions and receive status information. This allows the host to make informed decisions about when to initiate garbage collection, creating a closed-loop system that optimizes the balance between space reclamation and performance by continuously monitoring and responding to memory device state.
2Productivity
If the host can control garbage collection operations, then memory allocation efficiency is improved and latency is reduced, but device complexity increases due to additional control mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent leverages existing memory access protocols and command structures to implement host-controlled garbage collection. By using universal interfaces that the host already employs for normal memory operations, the system enables advanced garbage collection control without adding dedicated complex control hardware or protocols, thus improving memory allocation efficiency while minimizing increases in device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The memory device maintains its own internal garbage collection capabilities and can operate autonomously when the host does not issue specific commands. The host control mechanism serves as an optional optimization layer rather than a replacement for automatic garbage collection, allowing the device to self-manage basic operations while accepting host-directed enhancements for improved efficiency in specific scenarios.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2a
Figure 2b
AI summary
In some aspects, a method may include receiving (310), at a memory interface of a device configured as memory, using a memory access protocol, a request to make a region of memory allocatable; and processing the request to make the region of memory allocatable. Processing (320) the request may include making allocatable at least a portion of storage media of the device corresponding to the region of memory and/or assigning a value to at least a portion of the storage media corresponding to the region of memory. The device may be configured to track allocated addresses on the device, and the method may further include modifying at least one circuit to make addresses allocatable corresponding to the region of memory. The method may further include modifying the device to indicate that the region of memory is free and adding the region of memory to a list of allocatable memory locations.