Storage Controller Thermal Throttling via Memory Block Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Storage devices face inefficiencies in determining when to apply thermal throttling modes, leading to unnecessary applications that can impact performance and reliability due to varying temperature distributions across memory blocks during operations.
Innovation Solution
A storage device and method that include a controller capable of monitoring temperature and determining a candidate memory block to apply thermal throttling only when necessary, based on specific temperature thresholds, to prevent overheating and maintain optimal operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If thermal throttling mode is applied to all operations when memory temperature reaches a threshold, then overheating is prevented, but performance is unnecessarily degraded due to varying temperature distributions across memory blocks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating thermal management strategies across different memory blocks. Instead of uniformly applying thermal throttling to all memory blocks when the overall temperature threshold is reached, the system identifies specific candidate memory blocks that are actually causing overheating and applies throttling only to those blocks. This allows other memory blocks to continue operating at full performance, thereby preventing unnecessary performance degradation while still preventing overheating.
2Device complexity
If thermal throttling is applied based on overall memory temperature, then thermal management is simplified, but unnecessary throttling occurs due to different operating characteristics of memory blocks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the memory into multiple memory blocks and monitoring/ managing each block's temperature and operation independently. The controller identifies which specific memory blocks are candidates for thermal throttling based on their individual operating characteristics and temperature contributions. This segmented approach prevents unnecessary throttling of blocks that are not causing overheating, thereby maintaining operation reliability while still providing effective thermal management.
3Measurement precision
If the controller monitors all memory blocks continuously, then accurate thermal throttling determination is achieved, but device complexity and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by monitoring and managing only the necessary memory blocks. Instead of continuously monitoring all memory blocks regardless of their operational state, the controller identifies and focuses on candidate memory blocks that are actually causing temperature issues. This selective monitoring approach achieves accurate thermal throttling determination for the critical blocks while reducing the overall complexity and power consumption compared to monitoring all blocks continuously.
Data Source
AI summary
A storage device and a method thereof determine a candidate memory block satisfying a set condition among a plurality of memory blocks when the temperature of a memory is equal to or higher than a first temperature as a target memory block. The target memory block is used to determine whether to apply a thermal throttling mode to a target operation to be executed on the memory when the temperature of the memory is equal or higher than a second temperature in order to avoid unnecessary thermal throttling.