Solid State Drive Mode Switching for Queue-Aware Thermal Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional information processing apparatuses and SSDs experience increased power consumption and performance degradation due to rising temperatures as data transfer speeds increase, limiting their operations.
Innovation Solution
A solid state drive (SSD) with a memory controller that switches between a high-power performance mode and a lower-power ECO mode based on the queue depth (QD) of processing commands, adjusting the PCIe bus transfer rate accordingly to manage power consumption and temperature.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If data transfer speed of SSD is increased, then productivity is improved, but power consumption increases and temperature rises causing performance degradation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic mode switching between first and second processing modes based on queue depth (QD) values. When QD exceeds a threshold, the system switches to the first processing mode with higher data transfer speeds; when QD is below the threshold, it switches to the second processing mode with lower power consumption. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by adjusting performance characteristics in real-time according to actual workload conditions.
2Productivity
If data transfer speed of SSD is increased, then productivity is improved, but temperature rises causing performance degradation
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically switches between processing modes based on queue depth monitoring. When QD is high, the first processing mode operates at higher speeds generating more heat; when QD is low, the second processing mode operates at lower speeds generating less heat. This dynamic adjustment prevents sustained high temperature conditions while maintaining high productivity when workload demands it.
3Productivity
If processing power is increased, then productivity is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The memory controller dynamically selects between first and second processing modes based on real-time queue depth values. The first mode provides higher processing power for heavy workloads, while the second mode consumes less power for light workloads. This dynamic switching resolves the contradiction by matching processing power to actual workload requirements rather than operating at maximum power continuously.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes operational parameters (processing mode, PCIe bus transfer rate) based on queue depth thresholds. By adjusting these parameters dynamically, the system optimizes the balance between processing power and power consumption, achieving high productivity when needed while reducing energy usage during low-demand periods.
Data Source
AI summary
A solid state drive is configured to be connected to an information processing apparatus, and has an electrically rewritable nonvolatile memory and a memory controller that accepts a processing command for the nonvolatile memory and performs processing corresponding to the processing command, the memory controller switching between a first processing mode with higher processing power for the nonvolatile memory and a second processing mode with lower processing power than the first processing mode, depending on the value of queue depth indicating the number of the processing commands issued by the information processing apparatus at a time.