Storage Controller Transactional Atomicity Memory Capacity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Data storage devices face challenges in handling atomic operations, where data written by successful operations is not committed until all operations are successfully completed, leading to issues with memory capacity reporting and potential data rollback.
Innovation Solution
A data storage device with a controller that determines and reports available memory capacity before atomic operations are completed, using partial commit references to manage data storage and rollback, allowing parallel operations and power cycle handling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If data storage device waits for all atomic operations to complete before committing data, then data integrity is ensured, but memory capacity reporting becomes inaccurate and operation latency increases
Solution Approach 1:
The controller performs preliminary actions by allocating memory addresses and updating available capacity before the atomic operations are fully completed. The memory locations are reserved and marked as unavailable to the host in advance, while the actual data commitment waits for all operations to succeed. This allows the system to prepare the memory state ahead of time without compromising data integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the atomic operation process into distinct phases: (1) allocation phase where memory addresses are assigned and capacity is updated, (2) execution phase where actual data operations occur, and (3) commitment phase where data is finalized. This segmentation allows the capacity reporting to be updated independently of the actual data commitment, reducing latency while maintaining reliability through the rollback mechanism.
2Productivity
If data storage device reserves memory locations for atomic operations before completion, then memory management is optimized, but available capacity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The controller performs preliminary memory allocation and updates the available capacity indicator before the atomic operations complete. By reserving memory addresses in advance and notifying the host of the reduced available capacity, the system optimizes memory management efficiency. The host can then plan subsequent operations accordingly, avoiding conflicts with the reserved memory locations.
3Productivity
If data storage device allows parallel operations with atomic transactions, then throughput is improved, but complexity of managing memory states increases
Solution Approach 1:
The controller acts as an intermediary between the host and the memory system during parallel operations. It maintains state information about ongoing atomic operations and their associated memory allocations, mediating between the host's parallel operation requests and the actual memory state. This intermediary role manages the complexity by centralizing the tracking of partial commits and their corresponding memory reservations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where the controller continuously monitors the state of atomic operations and updates the available capacity indicator accordingly. When atomic operations complete successfully, the controller provides feedback by updating the capacity to reflect the newly available memory. This feedback loop enables parallel operations while maintaining accurate memory state management.
Data Source
AI summary
A data storage device and method for host-initiated transactional handling for large data set atomicity across multiple memory commands are provided. In one embodiment, a data storage device is provided comprising a memory and a controller. The controller is configured to commence performance of a plurality of atomic operations; and prior to successful completion of the plurality of atomic operations: determine an available capacity of the memory, wherein memory locations storing data written by the plurality of atomic operations are considered unavailable even though the data is not yet committed to the memory locations; and inform the host of the determined available capacity of the memory. Other embodiments are possible, and each of the embodiments can be used alone or together in combination.