Interconnect Cache Maintenance via Intermediate Device
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Solution Overview
Problem
In data processing systems, cache maintenance operations involving long-latency storage devices can burden the master device with significant latency, making it inefficient to manage these operations until completion, especially when dealing with non-volatile storage where data persistence is crucial.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of an interconnect system with a master device, an intermediate device, and a slave device, where the master device initiates a separated cache maintenance request for long-latency operations, allowing the intermediate device to take responsibility for completing the operation with the slave device, thereby reducing the administrative burden on the master device and ensuring data persistence without direct involvement in the latency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the master device directly manages cache maintenance operations with long-latency storage devices, then data persistence is ensured, but the master device experiences significant latency and reduced efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediate device as a mediator between the master device and the long-term storage device. The intermediate device receives cache maintenance requests from the master device, manages the actual storage operations, and returns completion status. This intermediary structure allows the master device to initiate operations without waiting for completion, thereby ensuring data persistence while reducing the latency impact on the master device's processing efficiency.
2Reliability
If the master device waits for completion of cache maintenance operations, then data safety is ensured, but the master device's productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The master device performs preliminary actions by issuing cache maintenance requests to the intermediate device without waiting for completion. The intermediate device then handles the actual storage operations in the background. This preliminary action approach allows the master device to continue processing other tasks while the storage operations complete asynchronously, thereby maintaining data safety through proper request handling while improving overall processing efficiency.
3Ease of operation
If the master device is directly involved in completing cache maintenance operations, then operational control is maintained, but the administrative burden on the master device increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the administrative burden of completing cache maintenance operations from the master device and transfers it to the intermediate device. The master device only needs to issue requests and receive completion status, while the intermediate device handles the actual storage operations, status tracking, and coordination with the long-term storage device. This extraction reduces the master device's administrative burden while maintaining operational control through the request-response interface.
Data Source
AI summary
An interconnect system and method of operating the system are disclosed. A master device has access to a cache and a slave device has an associated data storage device for long-term storage of data items. The master device can initiate a cache maintenance operation in the interconnect system with respect to a data item temporarily stored in the cache causing action to be taken by the slave device with respect to storage of the data item in the data storage device. For long latency operations the master device can issue a separated cache maintenance request specifying the data item and the slave device. In response an intermediate device signals an acknowledgment response indicating that it has taken on responsibility for completion of the cache maintenance operation and issues the separated cache maintenance request to the slave device. The slave device signals the acknowledgement response to the intermediate device and on completion of the cache maintenance operation with respect to the data item stored in the data storage device signals a completion response to the master device.