Volatile Memory Zone Control for Power Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current power management systems for memory devices lack the ability to individually control and efficiently transition between different power consumption states, leading to unnecessary power consumption and potential performance issues, especially in systems with varying memory usage patterns.
Innovation Solution
Implementing memory controllers that create and manage multiple zones within volatile memory devices, allowing each zone to be independently controlled between active, standby, and powered-off states, with the ability to store context when not in use and adjust power states based on operating system requirements and thresholds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If the entire system is in standby mode, then most components are in reduced power consumption mode, but memory devices cannot be individually controlled leading to unnecessary power consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The memory device is divided into multiple independently controllable zones, each capable of being in different power states (active, standby, powered-off). This segmentation allows selective power management where only actively used zones remain fully powered while unused zones are powered down, resolving the contradiction between individual control capability and power consumption reduction.
Solution Approach 2:
Different zones within the same memory device can have different power consumption states simultaneously. The memory controller dynamically assigns power states to specific zones based on actual usage requirements, enabling local optimization of power consumption without affecting the entire memory device, thus reducing unnecessary power consumption while maintaining operational flexibility.
2Loss of energy
If memory zones are powered off to save power, then power consumption is reduced, but system performance may be impacted due to context storage requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The memory controller proactively manages context storage and retrieval operations before and during power state transitions. When a zone is transitioning to powered-off state, the controller ensures all active contexts are properly stored. When a zone needs to be activated, contexts are pre-loaded, minimizing performance impact while maintaining power savings.
Solution Approach 2:
The memory controller continuously monitors memory usage patterns and dynamically adjusts power states of different zones based on actual demand. This feedback mechanism ensures that zones are powered off only when truly unused, and quickly activated when needed, balancing power consumption reduction with system performance requirements through adaptive control.
Data Source
AI summary
A method, apparatus, and system are described in which a memory controller may have two or more registers to create and track zones of memory in a volatile memory device. The memory controller controls a power consumption state of a first zone of memory in the volatile memory device and a second zone of memory within the first volatile memory device on an individual basis; and one or more memory arrays contained within the first volatile memory device.