Storage Device Interface Adaptor for Serial Communication Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current electronic device configurations face challenges in efficiently communicating between processors and storage devices, leading to increased complexity and cost, particularly when trying to satisfy user demands for higher performance and capacity while maintaining cost-effectiveness.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a device with multiple input/output ports and interface adaptors that support communication through a protocol with multiple layers, including an application layer and a physical adaptor layer, allowing for the conversion of requests between different formats to manage communication conditions across connected storage devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If multiple storage devices are serially connected to satisfy user demand for larger capacity, then storage capacity increases, but device complexity and configuration complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The first storage device serves multiple functions: it acts as a storage device for the operation processor and simultaneously functions as a communication gateway to the second storage device. The interface adaptor in the first storage device handles both local communication with the operation processor and remote communication with the second storage device, eliminating the need for separate dedicated controllers for each storage device.
Solution Approach 2:
The first storage device acts as an intermediary between the operation processor and the second storage device. It receives communication requests from the operation processor, determines whether they are directed to itself or the second storage device, and forwards appropriate requests to the second storage device through its input/output port.
2Productivity
If interface adaptors with multiple layers are implemented to enable communication between storage devices, then communication efficiency improves, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The interface adaptor combines multiple protocol layers (application layer and physical adaptor layer) into a single integrated component within the first storage device. This merging eliminates the need for separate hardware components for each layer, simplifying the overall system architecture and reducing manufacturing complexity while maintaining communication efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
A device includes a first input/output (I/O) port for communication with an external processor, a second I/O port for communication with a second device, and an interface adaptor supporting communication through the first and second I/O ports via a protocol having a plurality of layers, including an application layer, a physical layer, and a physical adaptor layer. The application layer processes information according to an application layer format and the physical adaptor layer processes information according to a physical adaptor layer format. The device receives from the external processor through the first I/O port a request in the application layer format that one or more communication conditions be set for a physical layer of the second device, converts the request from the application layer format to the physical adaptor layer format, and sends the converted request in the physical adaptor layer format to the second device through the second I/O port.