Memory Buffer Page Recompression With Independent Frame Compression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Recompression of compressed data pages in memory systems is computationally intensive, leading to operational slowdowns, especially when partial or full decompression is required for access and swapping.
Innovation Solution
A buffer device with a data compression/decompression module manages the recompression of data pages by independently compressing or decompressing frames of data in parallel, storing them with expansion spaces to minimize latency, and optimizing memory usage through efficient frame management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If computationally intensive compression algorithms (e.g., Zstandard) are used to compress pages before transfer to cache, then memory space utilization is improved, but system performance deteriorates due to operational slowdowns during recompression
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides a memory page into multiple frames (e.g., 4 frames of 1KB each in a 4KB page). Each frame can be independently compressed, decompressed, or managed separately. This segmentation allows the system to process only the necessary frames rather than entire pages, reducing the computational overhead of compression operations while maintaining effective memory space utilization through selective compression of individual frames.
2Ease of operation
If entire pages are decompressed for access, then data accessibility is improved, but latency increases due to unnecessary decompression of unused data
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and identifies only the specific frames containing requested data within a compressed page. When a data access request arrives, the system determines which frame(s) contain the needed data and decompresses only those specific frames rather than the entire page. This extraction approach maintains data accessibility for the requested information while avoiding the time penalty of decompressing unnecessary frames.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements partial decompression by decompressing only the necessary portion (specific frame(s)) of the compressed page data rather than the entire page. This partial action provides exactly what is needed for data access without the excessive action of decompressing the full page, thereby reducing access latency while maintaining adequate data accessibility.
3Speed
If frames are stored with expansion spaces to enable partial decompression, then access speed is improved, but memory overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary organization of frame data during the compression phase by arranging frames with expansion spaces between them in the compressed page structure. This preliminary action prepares the data layout in advance, enabling rapid identification and extraction of specific frames during access operations without requiring additional processing or memory overhead at access time. The expansion spaces are pre-positioned to facilitate efficient partial decompression.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus and method for low page overhead recompression. In one embodiment a memory buffer integrated circuit (IC) device is disclosed that includes a first circuit configured to independently compress equally sized portions of a page of data, and a second circuit configured to store the compressed data portions at respective addresses in memory. The memory buffer IC device also includes a third circuit configured to store a page table comprising an entry with information related to the respective memory addresses.