Memory Controller Channel Groups to Reduce Access Latency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing memory controller architectures face increased latency due to congestion in memory access request/response buffers, particularly as transfer rates increase, leading to bottlenecks that adversely affect system performance.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a memory controller architecture with multiple independent memory access request/response buffer sets and caches, organized into channel groups, allowing concurrent operation to manage non-overlapping physical address ranges and reduce latency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If a single memory access request/response buffer is used, then the device complexity is low, but latency increases due to congestion at higher transfer rates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the memory access request/response buffer into multiple independent buffer sets, where each buffer set handles specific memory channels or address ranges. This segmentation allows concurrent access operations to proceed in parallel without interfering with each other, thereby reducing latency and congestion while maintaining manageable complexity through modular organization.
2Productivity
If multiple independent buffer sets are implemented, then latency is reduced through concurrent operations, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The buffer is segmented into multiple independent sets that can operate concurrently, enabling parallel processing of memory access requests. This increases productivity by allowing multiple channels to access memory simultaneously without contention, while the modular segmented structure keeps complexity manageable through clear separation of functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a new dimension of parallelism by organizing buffers into multiple sets that operate independently across different memory channels or address spaces. This dimensional expansion from a single sequential buffer to multiple parallel buffers enables concurrent operations, significantly improving throughput and productivity.
3Reliability
If memory channels are organized into channel groups with independent buffers, then congestion is reduced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Memory channels are segmented into distinct channel groups, each with its own dedicated buffer set. This segmentation isolates congestion to specific channels rather than affecting the entire memory subsystem, thereby improving reliability by ensuring that failures or bottlenecks in one channel do not propagate to others. The modular architecture manages complexity through clear channel-group associations.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus can include a plurality of memory devices and a memory controller coupled to the plurality of memory devices via a plurality of memory channels. The plurality of memory channels are organized as a plurality of channel groups. The memory controller comprises a plurality of memory access request/response buffer sets, and each memory access request/response buffer set of the plurality of memory access request/response buffer sets corresponds to a different one of the plurality of channel groups.