Memory Fail Flagging for Faster Uncorrectable Data Recovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing memory systems face challenges in managing and restoring uncorrectable fails in volatile memory units, leading to increased costs and inefficiencies due to the need for repeated error correction and resource allocation.
Innovation Solution
A memory system and method that detects fail memory units and sets a fail flag, allowing for reduced resource management and rapid restoration using a fail flag set command, error correction, and erasure coding algorithms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If repeated error correction and resource allocation are performed for fail memory units, then data reliability is improved, but management costs and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by setting a fail flag in the fail memory unit before data restoration is needed. This pre-marking of failed units allows the system to quickly identify and skip over problematic areas during subsequent operations, eliminating the need for repeated scanning and manual identification of fail locations, thus reducing management complexity while maintaining reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the fail location information from the memory system by using a dedicated fail flag. This separation of fail indication from the main data storage allows the system to manage failures independently through simpler mechanisms, reducing the complexity of tracking and managing multiple fail conditions without compromising data reliability
2Ease of repair
If repeated error correction operations are performed, then data restoration capability is improved, but time consumption and processing resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The fail flag is set as a preliminary action that prepares the system for future restoration operations. By pre-marking the fail location, the system eliminates the time-consuming process of scanning and identifying fail locations during restoration operations, allowing for rapid direct access to the fail flag and accelerated data restoration without compromising restoration capability
Solution Approach 2:
The fail flag acts as an intermediary between the data storage system and the error correction system. This intermediate marker provides quick reference information about fail locations, enabling the error correction system to operate more efficiently by avoiding redundant scanning and identification steps, thus reducing restoration time while maintaining full restoration capability
Data Source
AI summary
A memory system may include a memory media and a controller. The memory media may include a plurality of memory chips, each of the plurality of memory chips may include a plurality of memory units, and each of the plurality of memory units may include a plurality of memory cells. The controller may detect a fail memory unit among a plurality of memory units included in the memory media, and may transmit to the memory media a fail flag set command which instructs setting of a fail flag for the fail memory unit.