Split Auxiliary Channel Memory Control for Metadata
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional memory systems dedicate auxiliary channels exclusively to error correction code (ECC) conveyance, which limits bandwidth and storage capacity for metadata, degrading primary channel performance.
Innovation Solution
A memory control component splits the auxiliary channel between ECC and metadata conveyance/storage, scaling ECC density to accommodate metadata volume, allowing metadata to be conveyed and stored without compromising primary channel bandwidth or storage capacity, using a split-auxiliary mode that configures ECC encoding/decoding circuitry to protect both application data and metadata.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the auxiliary channel is dedicated exclusively to ECC conveyance, then error correction capability is ensured, but metadata conveyance bandwidth is limited and primary channel performance is degraded
Solution Approach 1:
The auxiliary channel is segmented into two functional portions: a first portion dedicated to ECC conveyance and a second portion allocated for metadata conveyance. This segmentation allows both ECC and metadata to be transmitted simultaneously over the auxiliary channel without interfering with each other, resolving the contradiction between ensuring error correction capability and maintaining metadata bandwidth.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a dimensional change by utilizing the auxiliary channel's previously unused capacity for metadata transmission. By adding metadata conveyance as a new dimension of data transmission alongside ECC, the system achieves both error correction and metadata bandwidth requirements without sacrificing either function.
2Productivity
If the auxiliary channel is split between ECC and metadata, then metadata bandwidth is improved, but ECC density must be scaled to accommodate metadata volume
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by dynamically adjusting ECC density based on the volume of metadata to be conveyed. The ECC encoding/decoding circuitry is configured to scale ECC density, allowing the system to optimize the balance between ECC protection and metadata bandwidth utilization. This parameter adjustment enables flexible allocation of the auxiliary channel between ECC and metadata.
3Reliability
If ECC density is increased to protect larger data volumes, then error correction coverage is expanded, but auxiliary channel bandwidth for metadata is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by providing ECC protection only to the extent necessary for the data volumes being transmitted. Rather than using maximum ECC density throughout, the system adjusts ECC density to match the actual metadata volume requirements, allowing sufficient error correction coverage while preserving auxiliary channel bandwidth for metadata conveyance.
Data Source
AI summary
A memory control component allocates a portion of an auxiliary signaling channel and corresponding memory storage, conventionally dedicated to error correction code (ECC) conveyance and storage, for conveyance of metadata and/or other types of component-level information—splitting the auxiliary channel between metadata and ECC conveyance/storage in proportions that obviate conventional metadata conveyance/storage via the primary data channel and thus maintaining full primary channel bandwidth/storage-capacity for user data.