Storage Controller Prefetch Control for Read Performance and Power
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing storage systems face challenges in improving read performance while minimizing power consumption during sequential read operations in non-volatile memory, as prefetching data can consume significant power without ensuring optimal read performance.
Innovation Solution
A storage controller with a prefetch control function, including a prefetch buffer and a determiner circuit, dynamically enables or disables prefetch operations based on read performance, switching between prefetched and normal data paths to optimize read performance and power usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If prefetch operation is enabled during sequential read operation, then read performance is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The prefetch control circuit dynamically adjusts the prefetch operation by enabling it during initial sequential read operations to improve performance, then disabling it after a first time period, and selectively re-enabling it based on performance evaluation during a prefetch suspend period. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction by adapting prefetch usage to actual performance needs rather than maintaining a fixed state.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by evaluating read performance during the prefetch suspend period and using this evaluation to determine whether to re-enable prefetch operation. The prefetch control circuit monitors whether normal data read performance meets a threshold, and only re-enables prefetching when performance degrades, thus resolving the power-performance contradiction through closed-loop control.
2Productivity
If prefetch operation is continuously enabled, then read performance is maintained, but power consumption increases unnecessarily
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs periodic action by disabling prefetch operation after an initial period and only re-enabling it periodically based on performance evaluation. The prefetch control circuit suspends prefetching for a defined period, then evaluates whether to resume based on measured performance, creating a periodic on-off pattern that reduces unnecessary power consumption while maintaining performance when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operational parameter of prefetch operation from continuously enabled to conditionally enabled based on performance thresholds. By monitoring read performance metrics and adjusting the prefetch enable/disable state accordingly, the system optimizes the balance between performance maintenance and power consumption reduction.
3Use of energy by moving object
If prefetch operation is disabled, then power consumption is reduced, but read performance may degrade
Solution Approach 1:
The feedback mechanism evaluates read performance during the prefetch suspend period and triggers re-enablement of prefetch operation when performance degradation is detected. This ensures that prefetching is restored only when necessary to maintain performance, resolving the contradiction between power savings and performance maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-service by autonomously monitoring its own performance metrics and making decisions about prefetch operation status without external intervention. The prefetch control circuit automatically evaluates performance and adjusts prefetch enabling/disabling based on internal performance measurements, ensuring performance is maintained while minimizing power consumption.
Data Source
AI summary
A storage controller includes a prefetch buffer configured to buffer data prefetched from a non-volatile memory during a prefetch operation, a determiner circuit configured to output one of the prefetched data and normal data read from the non-volatile memory, as read data, and a prefetch control circuit configured to enable the prefetch operation during a first time when a sequential read operation is performed on the non-volatile memory, disable the prefetch operation at a second point after the first time, and enable the prefetch operation or maintain the disable of the prefetch operation according to performance of the read data in a prefetch suspend period after the second time in which the prefetch operation is disabled.