SATA to PCIe Protocol Conversion for Bandwidth Expansion
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Solution Overview
Problem
The SATA protocol's inherent limitations on communication bandwidth due to single lane, half duplex communication restricts the maximum permitted bandwidth, and increasing lanes or switching to full duplex communication is not compatible with existing SATA protocol drivers.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system that converts SATA protocol compatible frames into PCIe compliant packets and frames, allowing bi-directional communication using multiple lanes while maintaining compatibility with SATA protocol drivers by negotiating link speeds and widths, and managing physical layer states to achieve higher bandwidths.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If SATA protocol uses single lane, half duplex communication to maintain compatibility with existing drivers, then compatibility is preserved, but communication bandwidth is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a protocol conversion layer that acts as an intermediary between SATA and PCIe protocols. This conversion layer translates SATA protocol frames into PCIe protocol packets, enabling the system to leverage PCIe's multi-lane full duplex capabilities while maintaining compatibility with existing SATA drivers. The conversion layer is the mediator that resolves the contradiction between protocol compatibility and communication performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the communication parameters by transitioning from SATA's single-lane half-duplex mode to PCIe's multi-lane full-duplex mode. By altering the lane configuration and duplex mode parameters, the system achieves higher bandwidth while the protocol conversion maintains driver compatibility. This parameter change is enabled by the protocol translation mechanism.
2Productivity
If the number of communication lanes is increased to improve bandwidth, then communication capability is enhanced, but compatibility with SATA protocol drivers is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The protocol conversion layer serves as an intermediary that decouples the driver from the physical communication medium. Drivers continue to operate with SATA protocol expectations, while the conversion layer translates these into PCIe packets that utilize multiple lanes. This intermediary approach allows lane expansion without breaking driver compatibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the communication stack into distinct layers: the SATA protocol layer (maintaining driver compatibility) and the PCIe physical layer (providing multi-lane full duplex capability). The protocol conversion layer bridges these segments, allowing each to operate independently at its optimal configuration without compromising the other.
3Productivity
If full duplex communication is implemented to increase bandwidth, then communication efficiency is improved, but compatibility with SATA protocol is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The protocol conversion layer mediates between SATA's half-duplex protocol constraints and PCIe's full-duplex capability. It translates SATA's half-duplex communication patterns into PCIe's full-duplex framework, enabling simultaneous bidirectional communication while maintaining protocol compatibility. The intermediary handles the duplex mode translation transparently.
Data Source
AI summary
An embodiment may include circuitry to (a) convert, at least in part, at least one serial storage protocol compatible frame into at least one packet that is compatible, at least in part, with a multi-lane input/output (I/O) protocol, and/or (b) convert, at least in part, the at least one packet into the at least one frame. The at least one packet may be transmitted via a physical layer that is compatible, at least in part, with the multi-lane I/O protocol. The at least one packet may comprise frame information structure (FIS) information of the at least one frame.